Title :
Hybrid Mode Locked Fiber Laser Using a PDMS/SWCNT Composite Operating at 4 GHz
Author :
Hernandez-Romano, Ivan ; Davila-Rodriguez, J. ; Mandridis, Dimitrios ; Sanchez-Mondragon, Jose J. ; May-Arrioja, Daniel A. ; Delfyett, Peter J.
Author_Institution :
Dept. de Opt., Inst. Nac. de Astrofis., Opt. y Electron., Tonantzintla, Mexico
Abstract :
A hybrid mode-locked Erbium-doped fiber laser that provides very short pulse-widths while achieving high repetition rates is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. This hybrid configuration is realized by using a thin film of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) doped with single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT). This PDMS/SWCNT composite acts as a saturable absorber and is inserted within an active mode-locked laser system using angled connectors. Therefore, the effect of the PDMS/SWCNT composite is to effectively narrow the width of the pulses generated by the active system without modifying its repetition rate. A pulse-width of 730 fs was generated at a repetition rate of 4 GHz, while achieving an average output power of 4 mW. A reduction in the noise of the photodetected RF spectrum was also observed in the hybrid system.
Keywords :
carbon nanotubes; erbium; fibre lasers; laser mode locking; laser noise; nanocomposites; nanophotonics; optical fibre couplers; optical films; optical polymers; optical pulse generation; optical saturable absorption; polymer films; C; PDMS-SWCNT composite; angled connectors; frequency 4 GHz; hybrid configuration; hybrid mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser; laser output power; laser pulsewidths; noise reduction; photodetected RF spectrum; polydimethylsiloxane; power 4 mW; pulse generation; pulse repetition rates; saturable absorber; single wall carbon nanotubes; thin film; Cavity resonators; Erbium-doped fiber lasers; Films; Laser mode locking; Modulation; Optical fiber polarization; Carbon nanotubes; fiber lasers; mode-locked lasers; saturable absorber;
Journal_Title :
Lightwave Technology, Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JLT.2011.2167654
