Passively Q-Switched 1.89-μm Fiber Laser Using a Bulk-Structured Bi2Te3 Topological Insulator

We experimentally demonstrate that a bulk-structured Bi2Te3 topological insulator (TI) film deposited on a side-polished fiber can act as an effective Q-switch for a 1.89-μm laser. Our bulk-structured Bi2Te3 TI film with a thickness of ~31 μm, was prepared using a mechanical exfoliation method, and the fabricated film was transferred onto a side-polished SM2000 fiber to form a fiberized saturable absorber based on evanescent field interaction. By incorporating the saturable absorber into a thulium (Tm)-holmium (Ho) co-doped fiber-based ring cavity, it is shown that Q-switched pulses with a minimum temporal width of ~1.71 μs can readily be produced at a wavelength of 1.89 μm. The output pulse repetition rate was tunable from ~35 to ~60 kHz depending on the pump power. The maximum output pulse energy was ~11.54 nJ at a pump power of 250 mW. The output performance of our laser is compared to that of the 1.98-μm Q-switched fiber laser based on a nanosheet-based Bi2Se3 TI demonstrated previously by Luo et al.

[1]  R. Sundaram,et al.  2 μm solid-state laser mode-locked by single-layer graphene , 2012, 1210.7042.

[2]  J. Taylor,et al.  Tm-doped fiber laser mode-locked by graphene-polymer composite. , 2012, Optics express.

[3]  Zhenhua Ni,et al.  Atomic‐Layer Graphene as a Saturable Absorber for Ultrafast Pulsed Lasers , 2009, 0910.5820.

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

[6]  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.

[7]  Zhengqian Luo,et al.  High-energy passively Q-switched 2 μm Tm(3+)-doped double-clad fiber laser using graphene-oxide-deposited fiber taper. , 2013, Optics express.

[8]  D. Shen,et al.  A passively Q-switched thulium-doped fiber laser with single-walled carbon nanotubes , 2013 .

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

[10]  A. Ferrari,et al.  Production and processing of graphene and 2d crystals , 2012 .

[11]  Shuangchun Wen,et al.  Wavelength-tunable picosecond soliton fiber laser with Topological Insulator: Bi2Se3 as a mode locker. , 2012, Optics express.

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

[13]  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.

[14]  Zhipei Sun,et al.  74-fs nanotube-mode-locked fiber laser , 2012 .

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

[16]  Yong-Won Song,et al.  A Mode-Locked 1.91 µm Fiber Laser Based on Interaction between Graphene Oxide and Evanescent Field , 2012 .

[17]  Evgueni M. Dianov,et al.  Mode-locked 1.93 μm thulium fiber laser with a carbon nanotube absorber , 2008 .

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

[19]  Günter Steinmeyer,et al.  Passive mode-locking of a Tm-doped bulk laser near 2 microm using a carbon nanotube saturable absorber. , 2009, Optics express.

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

[21]  A. Ferrari,et al.  Ultrafast lasers mode-locked by nanotubes and graphene , 2012 .

[22]  M. Liu,et al.  2 GHz passively harmonic mode-locked fiber laser by a microfiber-based topological insulator saturable absorber. , 2013, Optics letters.

[23]  Jaroslaw Sotor,et al.  Mode-locking in Er-doped fiber laser based on mechanically exfoliated Sb_2Te_3 saturable absorber , 2014 .

[24]  X. Fan,et al.  Broad spectral pulse operation of 2 μm Tm:YAP laser based on reflection-type carbon nanotube absorber , 2012 .

[25]  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.

[26]  Kwanil Lee,et al.  Mode-locked pulse generation from an all-fiberized, Tm-Ho-codoped fiber laser incorporating a graphene oxide-deposited side-polished fiber. , 2013, Optics express.

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

[28]  Y. Sakakibara,et al.  Mode-locked fiber lasers based on a saturable absorber incorporating carbon nanotubes , 2003, OFC 2003 Optical Fiber Communications Conference, 2003..

[29]  Yong-Won Song,et al.  Graphene mode-lockers for fiber lasers functioned with evanescent field interaction , 2010 .

[30]  B E Bouma,et al.  Optical Coherence Tomographic Imaging of Human Tissue at 1.55 μm and 1.81 μm Using Er- and Tm-Doped Fiber Sources. , 1998, Journal of biomedical optics.

[31]  Jaroslaw Sotor,et al.  Sub-130 fs mode-locked Er-doped fiber laser based on topological insulator. , 2014, Optics express.

[32]  Jia Xu,et al.  Graphene-based passively Q-switched 2 μm thulium-doped fiber laser , 2012 .

[33]  Günter Huber,et al.  175 fs Tm:Lu2O3 laser at 2.07 µm mode-locked using single-walled carbon nanotubes. , 2012, Optics express.

[34]  Zhipei Sun,et al.  Nanotube–Polymer Composites for Ultrafast Photonics , 2009 .

[35]  D. Tang,et al.  Graphene mode-locked femtosecond laser at 2 μm wavelength. , 2012, Optics letters.

[36]  Zhipei Sun,et al.  Solution processing of graphene, topological insulators and other 2d crystals for ultrafast photonics , 2014 .

[37]  Sammy W. Henderson,et al.  Coherent laser radar at 2 μm using solid-state lasers , 1993, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[38]  Zhipei Sun,et al.  Nanotube and graphene saturable absorbers for fibre lasers , 2013, Nature Photonics.

[39]  James O'Gorman,et al.  Narrow linewidth, tunable Tm/sup 3+/-doped fluoride fiber laser for optical-based hydrocarbon gas sensing , 1997 .

[40]  Hongwei Zhu,et al.  Broadband Graphene Saturable Absorber for Pulsed Fiber Lasers at 1, 1.5, and 2 μm , 2014, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[41]  T. Leinonen,et al.  High-Repetition-Rate Q-Switched Holmium Fiber Laser , 2012, IEEE Photonics Journal.

[42]  D. Basko,et al.  Graphene mode-locked ultrafast laser. , 2009, ACS nano.

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

[44]  S. Yamashita,et al.  A Tutorial on Nonlinear Photonic Applications of Carbon Nanotube and Graphene , 2012, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[45]  N. Fried,et al.  High-power thulium fiber laser ablation of urinary tissues at 1.94 microm. , 2005, Journal of endourology.

[46]  Lei Su,et al.  Graphene oxide absorber for 2 μm passive mode-locking Tm:YAlO3 laser , 2011 .

[47]  Xavier Mateos,et al.  Femtosecond Pulses near 2 µm from a Tm:KLuW Laser Mode-Locked by a Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Saturable Absorber , 2012 .

[48]  Joonhoi Koo,et al.  An all fiberized, 1.89-μm Q-switched laser employing carbon nanotube evanescent field interaction , 2012 .

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

[50]  Xi Dai,et al.  Topological insulators in Bi 2 Se 3 , Bi 2 Te 3 and Sb 2 Te 3 with a single Dirac cone on the surface , 2009 .

[51]  M. Jablonski,et al.  Laser mode locking using a saturable absorber incorporating carbon nanotubes , 2004, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[52]  Irina T. Sorokina,et al.  Mid-infrared coherent sources and applications , 2008 .