Erbium-doped Fiber Laser Research Articles

Narrowband 10-ps-class mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser oscillator

We demonstrate a narrowband erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser oscillator having a linear cavity based on the design of bulk laser oscillators mode-locked by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) and out coupled by a fiber Bragg grating. The EDF laser oscillator has an average power of 7.06 ± 0.04 mW with a 3 dB bandwidth of 0.37 nm and a pulse duration of ∼12 ps at a repetition rate of 50.47 MHz. A pulse energy of ∼140 pJ is the highest ever reported in SESAM mode-locked EDF laser oscillators with a nearly Fourier-limited pulse duration demonstrating power scalability of a bulk laser and compactness of a nearly all-fiber laser. The repetition rate has a free-running fluctuation of only 312 Hz over 7 h of operation making it a promising light source for application to laser spectroscopy. The long pulse duration makes this EDF laser oscillator a suitable source for seeding a high-average-power amplifier using a large mode-area photonic crystal or tapered gain fiber without the need of pulse stretching. Moreover, this laser oscillator could be an alternative solution to the development of complicated bulk narrowband laser sources suitable for building an ion trap for application to quantum computing.

Single-frequency erbium-doped fiber laser based on self-injection feedback.

In this paper, a single-frequency erbium-doped fiber laser based on self-injection feedback is reported, which uses a high-reflectivity broadband fiber Bragg grating, an ordinary commercial high-doped erbium fiber and a low-reflectivity broadband fiber Bragg grating to form the main resonant cavity, and a stable narrow linewidth single-frequency laser output is achieved by connecting a single-mode fiber and a low reflectivity narrowband fiber Bragg grating to form self-injection feedback. Then, a saturated double-pass erbium-doped fiber amplifier and a saturable absorber were added to the self-injection optical path, which well suppressed the relative intensity noise and phase noise and the relaxation oscillation intensity was well suppressed by about 18.08 dB, and the phase noise was 36.7dBc·Hz-1 suppression, the edge-mode rejection ratio is increased by 13 dB, and the final laser linewidth is about 270 Hz, and the output power is 8.5 dBm.

Passively harmonic dissipative soliton generation in normal dispersion erbium-doped fiber laser using SMS fiber as artificial saturable absorber

Passively harmonic mode-locking has been experimentally demonstrated in an erbium-doped fiber laser with large normal dispersion using single-multi-single mode structure as artificial saturable absorber. By increasing the pump power under the same polarization setting, the mode-locking operation can switch from fundamental mode-locked to 5th order harmonic mode-locked. Highest repetition rate of 4.26 MHz (5th order harmonic) is observed, with pulse width and pulse energy ascertained at 290 fs and 3.0 nJ, respectively. Excellent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of above 50 dB is observed for all harmonic orders. The findings validated that SMS structure can be used to generate stable and switchable high order of harmonic mode-locked. The low-cost SMS fiber for harmonic mode-locked generation technique could lay the groundwork for future sustainable industrial growth.

Broad, Tunable and Stable Single-Frequency Erbium Fiber Compound-Ring Lasers Based on Parallel and Series Structures in L-Band Operation

In this demonstration, we present two erbium-doped fiber (EDF) lasers, with series and parallel three sub-ring configurations, respectively, to achieve tunable channel output and stable single longitudinal mode (SLM) operation in the L-band range. Here, the fiber ring cavity contains the L-band EDF as a gain medium. Based on the measured results of the two quad-ring structures of the EDF lasers, tunable output bandwidth for the two lasers can be obtained from 1558.0 to 1618.0 nm simultaneously. All the 3 dB linewidths measured for both fiber lasers are 312.5 Hz over the effective wavelength output range. Furthermore, the related optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR), output power, output stabilities of the central wavelength and power, and equal output power range of the two proposed EDF lasers are also examined and discussed.

Dual-wavelength erbium-doped mode-locked fiber laser based on CoPS3 saturable absorber

An erbium-doped mode-locked fiber laser based on CoPS3 saturable absorber was successfully constructed and ultrashort pulsed light was obtained. The CoPS3 nanosheets solution was prepared using the liquid-phase exfoliation technique, and then drop-coated onto a tapered fiber as a saturable absorber. The fiber laser based on CoPS3 saturable absorber could output conventional solitons at the central wavelengths of 1557.46 nm or 1532.12 nm, respectively, as well as simultaneously output conventional solitons at dual wavelengths of 1531.56 nm and 1557.32 nm, with the ability to switch between the three operational states. The achieved minimum pulse width was 1.59 ps. In addition to conventional solitons, the laser demonstrated the capability to generate bound-state solitons. This study highlights the effectiveness of CoPS3 as a reliable optical modulator for fiber lasers and illustrates its potential for applications in ultrafast optics.

1550nm-1600nm design and research of Erbium-doped fiber lasers

1550nm-1600nm design and research of Erbium-doped fiber lasers

Switchable emissions of an Erbium-doped fiber laser using cascaded MZIs based on CHCF

In this work, a single and dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) based on two Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) in cascade structure was experimentally validated. MZIs were assembled by joining a capillary hollow-core fiber (CHCF) piece between two multimode fibers (MMFs) sections. The switchable operation is reached by moving the spectrum of one MZI when the temperature is increased. The maximum measured signal noise to ratio (SNR) was more than 50 dB for the single and dual-wavelength laser lines. Besides, stable output is shown since no power and wavelength variations were noticed. It is important to mention that emissions are obtained at precise wavelength positions and not arbitrarily as described by other investigations. This EDFL can be used in applications of optical fiber communications systems and fiber sensing.

Polyacrylonitrile enabled soliton mode-locked fiber laser

Exploring novel saturable absorber (SA) materials with superior performance to enable mode-locking operation remains a forefront in ultrafast laser research. In this study, we unveil the potential of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based SA for ultrafast fiber laser applications. By probing the nonlinear absorption characteristics of PAN SA within the telecommunication band using the balanced twin-detector method, we reveal its substantial modulation depth of 10.7 %. Incorporating PAN SA into the Erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) cavity facilitated stable mode-locking operation. The resultant EDFL system produces a conventional soliton pulse train centered at 1568.4 nm wavelength, with mode-locking sustained over a pump power range from 87.2 to 254.1 mW. Moreover, the laser exhibits a pulse duration of 3.64 ps and achieves a maximum pulse energy of 2.04 nJ. These results highlight the efficacy of PAN-based SA, demonstrating properties comparable to established 2D SAs. The implications of this research are pivotal in advancing the application of novel organic polymers in ultrafast lasers.

Influence of black phosphorus structural variations for soliton and noise-like pulse generations in an erbium-doped fiber laser

We demonstrate black phosphorus (BP) with structural variations of layers (Ls) and quantum dots (QDs) blended with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) spin-coated tapered fiber as a light absorbing material for conventional soliton (CS) and noise-like pulse (NLP) generations. Interaction of the evanescent field leads BP materials to exhibit saturable absorption characteristics, with measured modulation depths of 3.50% and 2.12%, respectively. When integrated into an erbium-doped fiber laser cavity, both saturable absorbers (SAs) generated CS pulses initially with durations of 836 fs (BPLs/PDMS-SA) and 1.11 ps (BPQDs/PDMS-SA). At higher pump powers, the pulses switched to NLP with double-scale autocorrelation traces of 283 fs spike on 50 ps pedestal (BPLs/PDMS-SA) and 184 fs spike on 65 ps pedestal (BPQSs/PDMS-SA) due to the optical limiting properties of BP materials. These versatile findings facilitate the potential opportunities of BP-based photonic devices for next generation of ultrafast fiber laser technology with compact and dual functionality.

Wavelength tunable noise-like pulses in a hybrid mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser

The study demonstrates a new type of laser that generates wavelength-tunable h-shaped noise-like pulses (NLPs). We incorporated the nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) mechanism into a figure-eight erbium-doped hybrid mode-locked fiber laser based on the nonlinear amplifier loop mirror (NALM). Under an intra-cavity net dispersion of −5.535 ps2, the system produced NLPs with a maximum pulse duration of 24.54 ns, a maximum single energy of 19.96 nJ and a maximum output average power of 14.46 mW when the pump power was set to 543 mW. By adjusting the pump power and fine-tuning the polarization controller, the laser can output NLPs with tunable wavelengths ranging from 1560 to 1601 nm. The flexibility of wavelength-tunable techniques has potential applications in laser detection, high-energy physics experiments, and other fields, enriching the research framework of noise-like applications.

Highly sensitive adulteration detection in kelulut honey utilizing fiber Bragg grating technology with Q-switched pulse erbium-doped fiber laser and innovative spider silk substrate

The growing field of photonics has seen significant developments in optical pulse fiber-based sensing technologies. In this research, a novel fiber Bragg grating using a Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser source and innovative spider silk as a base material is presented, specifically designed for the detection of adulteration in pure kelulut honey. Kelulut honey has attracted much attention from Malaysian researchers as it is a highly prized, versatile local health remedy. During the experimental setup, concentrations of the adulterant isoglucose ranging from 0 % to 8 % and 10–50 % were intentionally added to the pure kelulut honey. The sensor showed remarkable sensitivity and detected subtle shifts in both the wavelength and radio frequency spectrum. The experimental results obtained emphasize the effectiveness of the proposed sensor and demonstrate its exceptional sensitivity in detecting adulteration in pure kelulut honey. This inherent property makes the derived pulse fiber laser sensor a promising tool for various applications in clinical detection and diagnosis as well as in the food industry. The results presented here not only contribute to the field of photonics but also have the potential to advance the quality control and authenticity assessment of kelulut honey in various fields.

Microsecond and nanosecond pulse initiator by Mo2Ga2C DSF saturable absorber (SA) with EDFL ring cavity

This paper elaborated the generation of microsecond and nanosecond pulse fiber laser using Mo2Ga2C coating onto DSF. The microsecond pulse commenced at the pump power of 39.826 mW and increased to 81.37 mW with a pulse width of 7.02 µs–5.92 µs. Meanwhile, the repetition rate showed measurements between 42.63 kHz to 64.6 kHz corresponding to the maximum pulse energy of 150.15 nJ. Besides that, the nanosecond pulse was generated with an additional length of 200 m for the SMF. The dual wavelength nanosecond pulse began at the pump power of 95.22 mW with a pulse width of 273.7 ns corresponding to the repetition rate of 961.8 kHz. Maximum pulse energy and maximum peak power were 8.75 nJ and 28.15 mW, respectively. The Mo2Ga2C coated DSF acted as the SA and was integrated into an erbium doped fiber laser cavity. The modulation depth of the Mo2Ga2C DSF SA was approximately 7.2 %.

Spacing-adjustable and switchable multi-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser using the filter of MMF–PMF–MMF based on PHB

Spacing-adjustable and switchable multi-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser using the filter of MMF–PMF–MMF based on PHB

Generation and real-time dynamics of vector square waves

The study delves into the characteristics and dynamics of vector square waves in an erbium-doped fiber laser employing a nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM). Through experimental investigation, the laser's operational modes, namely stable and periodic pulsating states, are achieved by manipulating polarization controllers (PCs). Within these states, the generation of two square waves with distinct peak power is observed. The vector properties of the pulses are authenticated using a polarized beam splitter (PBS). Furthermore, meticulous adjustment of the PCs reveals phenomena such as multi-pulse periodic breathing and prolonged fluctuations in pulse intensity.

Generation of dual-wavelength Q-switched pulses and bright-dark pulses pairs in an erbium-doped fiber laser with NbS2 as saturable absorber

In this experiment, stable dual-wavelength Q-switched pulses and bright-dark pulses pairs are achieved in an erbium-doped fiber laser based on NbS2 under saturable absorber. At pump powers of 172 mW–322 mW, stable dual-wavelength Q-switched pulses with center wavelengths of 1531.9 nm and 1557.05 nm were obtained with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as high as 43 dB. The repetition frequency was increased from 14.3 kHz to 22.7 kHz as the pump power was increased. When the pump power was increased to 340 mW, we found stable bright-dark pulses with center wavelengths of 1559.7 nm and 1560.12 nm, respectively, and a repetition frequency of 3.44 MHz with an SNR of 52 dB. The experimental results show that NbS2 can be used as an excellent SA for fiber lasers and demonstrate that NbS2 can be used to study dual-wave Q-switched pulses and bright-dark soliton pairs.

Preparation, characterization of violet phosphorus and its application in fiber laser

Violet phosphorus (VP) is a new type of two-dimensional nanomaterial that has unique electronic and optoelectronic properties, and has gained wide attention in the fields of physics, chemistry, and materials science. However, only a few instances of the use of VP in fiber lasers have been demonstrated. For instance, VP films have been utilized as saturable absorbers in Q-switched ytterbium-doped fiber lasers (YDFL) and erbium-doped fiber lasers (EDFL), operating at central wavelengths of 1033 nm and 1560 nm, respectively. Herein, VP films are prepared using a liquid phase exfoliation method and introduced in the ring cavity of a YDFL. Increasing the pump power from 113 mW to 245 mW, and repetition rates from 32.33 kHz to 107.12 kHz, resulted in a stable sequence of Q-switched pulses. A pulse width of 2.9 µs is obtained at a pump power of 245 mW. At a pump power of 230 mW, the pulse energy is 31.02 nJ. In the case of EDFL, stable Q-switched pulses are obtained at a maximum pump power of 150 mW, with the repetition rate, pulse width and pulse energy being 63.51 kHz, 6.4 µs, and 102.19 nJ, respectively. These results indicate that VP may be a promising broadband SA suitable for fiber lasers with wavelengths of 1 µm and 1.5 µm.

270 MHz passively mode-locked Er-doped fiber laser using single walled carbon nanotube polymer film.

We demonstrated a short-cavity mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser based on single walled carbon nanotube polymer composite film saturable absorber with a maximum fundamental repetition rate of 270.5 MHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest fundamental repetition rate among mode-locked erbium-doped ring fiber lasers based on nanomaterial polymer composite films. Samples with non-saturable loss range from 13.2% to 60% and modulation depth from 1.63% to 7.08% are prepared by controlling carbon nanotube concentration and film thickness. We systematically investigate the impacts of saturable absorbers on mode-locking repetition rate. Our results show that when the laser repetition rate continuously increases from 15.45 MHz to 270.5 MHz, samples with higher non-saturable loss will push forward the mode-locking threshold and eventually lose mode-locking. In addition, the increased modulation depth will enhance the pulse shaping ability and result in a shorter pulse. Our results may help for high repetition rate mode-locked fiber laser design and improve the laser characteristics. The demonstrated laser may support applications such as frequency comb, etc.

Switchable Dual-Wavelength Q-Switched Erbium-Doped Fibre Laser using Spider Silk as a Biocompatible and Eco-Friendly Saturable Absorber

Switchable Dual-Wavelength Q-Switched Erbium-Doped Fibre Laser using Spider Silk as a Biocompatible and Eco-Friendly Saturable Absorber

Molybdenum gallium carbide coated D-shape fiber for nanosecond dark pulse generation in erbium-doped fiber laser

Molybdenum gallium carbide (Mo2Ga2C), a material belongs to MAX phase group, has garnered significant interest in a wide range of scientific field, including material science, engineering, and laser physics. It is chemically and structurally promising since it exhibits a low shear modulus, superconducting behaviour, and high mechanical stability. Here, we prepared a saturable absorber (SA) based on Mo2Ga2C coated D-shape fiber using solution casting technique. It exhibits outstanding saturable absorption of 7.2%, allowing it to generate dark pulse laser in an erbium-doped fiber laser cavity. We analyzed the laser’s performance and obtained a dark pulse with a pulse energy, peak power, and average output power of 3.9 nJ, 27.5 mW, and 7.3 mW, respectively. This foundational work may introduce a new material as an alternative SA device in fiber laser cavity.

Tunable and switchable dual-wavelength SLM narrow-linewidth fiber laser with Lyot filter cascaded by double-ring cavity

An erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser with single longitudinal mode (SLM), narrow linewidth, and switchable dual-wavelength based on a Lyot filter cascaded dual-ring cavity structure (DRCs) has been designed and constructed. In the experimental system, an Employed passive DRCs enhances the longitudinal mode spacing, while the Lyot filter effectively mitigates mode competition within the laser cavity. The composite filter structure facilitates stable dual-wavelength output while ensuring a consistent SLM output. Then, experimental results reveal optical signal-to-noise ratios (OSNR) with 62 dB for single-wavelength and 55 dB for dual-wavelength. Additionally, the power and wavelength fluctuations for both single-wavelength and dual-wavelength remained stable throughout monitoring periods of 20 min and 1 h, respectively. Meanwhile, a maximum tuning range of 2 nm is achieved by stretching a polarization-maintaining fiber Bragg grating (PM-FBG) using a fiber displacement stage. The linewidths of each wavelength are 2.8 kHz and 2.6 kHz, respectively. During the process of wavelength tuning, the fluctuations of linewidth do not exceed 0.3 kHz and 0.45 kHz, respectively. Simultaneously, the polarization states of each wavelength are measured, which reveals orthogonal single polarization. The relative intensity noise (RIN) is measured below −133 dB/Hz at frequencies above 1 MHz.