Passively Q-switched 1.56 μm all-fiberized laser based on evanescent field interaction with bulk-structured bismuth telluride topological insulator

We experimentally investigated the use of a bulk-structured bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) topological insulator (TI) as a saturable absorption material for passive Q-switching of a fiber laser at ∼1.56  μm. Unlike previous TI-based Q-switched laser implementations that employed high-quality nanostructured TI saturable absorbers, we chose to use a bulk-structured Bi2Te3 TI film because it is easy to fabricate. Our saturable absorber was constructed by depositing a bulk-structured, ∼13  μm thick Bi2Te3 TI film, which was prepared by using a mechanical exfoliation method, on the flat side of a side-polished fiber. The modulation depth of the evanescent field interaction-based saturable absorber was measured to be ∼10.8% at ∼1.56  μm. Passively Q-switched pulses were readily obtained by incorporating the saturable absorber into an all fiberized erbium fiber-based ring cavity. The minimum temporal width was measured to be ∼2.81  μs at a repetition rate of ∼42.8  kHz. Through an output performance comparison between our Q-switched laser and recently demonstrated Q-switched fiber lasers incorporating nanostructured TI-based saturable absorbers, the pros and cons of our bulk-structured Bi2Te3 TI-based saturable absorbers were analyzed.

[1]  Jaroslaw Sotor,et al.  Harmonically mode-locked Er-doped fiber laser based on a Sb2Te3 topological insulator saturable absorber , 2014 .

[2]  Zhengqian Luo,et al.  Multiwavelength Dissipative-Soliton Generation in Yb-Fiber Laser Using Graphene-Deposited Fiber-Taper , 2012, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[3]  D. Rowe,et al.  Cooling performance of integrated thermoelectric microcooler , 1999 .

[4]  Shuangchun Wen,et al.  Topological Insulator: $\hbox{Bi}_{2}\hbox{Te}_{3}$ Saturable Absorber for the Passive Q-Switching Operation of an in-Band Pumped 1645-nm Er:YAG Ceramic Laser , 2013, IEEE Photonics Journal.

[5]  Z. K. Liu,et al.  Experimental Realization of a Three-Dimensional Topological Insulator , 2010 .

[6]  Philippe Emplit,et al.  Towards mode-locked fiber laser using topological insulators , 2012 .

[7]  Shuangchun Wen,et al.  Large Energy, Wavelength Widely Tunable, Topological Insulator Q-Switched Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser , 2014, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[8]  J. D. Rameau,et al.  Spin-orbit interaction effect in the electronic structure of Bi2Te3 observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy , 2008, 0803.0052.

[9]  Junsu Lee,et al.  All-normal-dispersion dissipative-soliton fiber laser at 1.06 µm using a bulk-structured Bi2Te3 topological insulator-deposited side-polished fiber , 2014 .

[10]  Shuangchun Wen,et al.  Nanosecond $Q$ -Switched Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser With Wide Pulse-Repetition-Rate Range Based on Topological Insulator , 2014, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

[11]  Zhengqian Luo,et al.  Preparation of Few-Layer Bismuth Selenide by Liquid-Phase-Exfoliation and Its Optical Absorption Properties , 2014, Scientific Reports.

[12]  Samir Bensaid,et al.  High efficiency Thermo-Electric power generator , 2012 .

[13]  Passive Q-switching of a fiber laser using a side-polished birefringent fiber with index matching gel spread on the flat side , 2013 .

[14]  C. Kane,et al.  Topological Insulators , 2019, Electromagnetic Anisotropy and Bianisotropy.

[15]  Xiao-Liang Qi,et al.  Topological field theory of time-reversal invariant insulators , 2008, 0802.3537.

[16]  M. Veldhorst,et al.  Experimental realization of superconducting quantum interference devices with topological insulator junctions , 2012 .

[17]  Shuangchun Wen,et al.  Broadband optical and microwave nonlinear response in topological insulator , 2014 .

[18]  Zhengqian Luo,et al.  1.06 μm Q-switched ytterbium-doped fiber laser using few-layer topological insulator Bi₂Se₃ as a saturable absorber. , 2013, Optics express.

[19]  Shuangchun Wen,et al.  Self-Assembled Topological Insulator: Bi$_{2}$Se$_{3}$ Membrane as a Passive Q-Switcher in an Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser , 2013, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[20]  Junsu Lee,et al.  A femtosecond pulse fiber laser at 1935 nm using a bulk-structured Bi2Te3 topological insulator. , 2014, Optics express.

[21]  Huai-jin Zhang,et al.  Topological insulator as an optical modulator for pulsed solid‐state lasers , 2013 .

[22]  Shuangchun Wen,et al.  Ultra-short pulse generation by a topological insulator based saturable absorber , 2012 .

[23]  Junsu Lee,et al.  A femtosecond pulse erbium fiber laser incorporating a saturable absorber based on bulk-structured Bi2Te3 topological insulator. , 2014, Optics express.

[24]  Jun Li,et al.  Large-scale production of ultrathin topological insulator bismuth telluride nanosheets by a hydrothermal intercalation and exfoliation route , 2012 .

[25]  Vivek Goyal,et al.  Exfoliation and characterization of bismuth telluride atomic quintuples and quasi-two-dimensional crystals. , 2010, Nano letters.

[26]  G. Lisensky,et al.  Thermoelectric Devices: Solid-State Refrigerators and Electrical Generators in the Classroom , 1996 .

[27]  S. Tu,et al.  Thermoelectric hydrogen sensor working at room temperature prepared by bismuth-telluride P-N couples and Pt/γ-Al2O3 , 2008 .

[28]  P. Roushan,et al.  p -type Bi 2 Se 3 for topological insulator and low-temperature thermoelectric applications , 2009 .

[29]  Xi Dai,et al.  Topological insulators in Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 with a single Dirac cone on the surface , 2009 .

[30]  Kang L. Wang,et al.  High-quality Bi2Te3 thin films grown on mica substrates for potential optoelectronic applications , 2013 .

[31]  Joel E Moore,et al.  The birth of topological insulators , 2010, Nature.

[32]  V. Kulbachinskii,et al.  The time-dependent process of oxidation of the surface of Bi2Te3 studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy , 2000 .

[33]  D. Hsieh,et al.  A topological Dirac insulator in a quantum spin Hall phase , 2008, Nature.

[34]  Shou-Cheng Zhang,et al.  Quantum Spin Hall Effect and Topological Phase Transition in HgTe Quantum Wells , 2006, Science.

[35]  Zhengqian Luo,et al.  Topological-Insulator Passively Q-Switched Double-Clad Fiber Laser at 2 $\mu$m Wavelength , 2014, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.