CsPbBr_3 nanocrystal for mode-locking Tm-doped fiber laser

CsPbBr_3 nanocrystal is used as the saturable absorber(SA) for mode-locking Tm-doped fiber laser in a ring fiber cavity.The modulation depth, saturable intensity, and non-saturable loss of the fabricated SA are 14.1%, 2.5 MW/cm~2,and 5.9%, respectively.In the mode-locking operation, the mode-locked pulse train has a repetition rate of 16.6 MHz with pulse width of 24.2 ps.The laser wavelength is centered at 1992.9 nm with 3-dB spectrum width of 2.5 nm.The maximum output power is 110 mW with slope efficiency of 7.1%.Our experiment shows that CsPbBr_3 nanocrystal can be used as an efficient SA in the 2-μm wavelength region.     

Characteristics of Sb_6Te_4/VO_2 Multilayer Thin Films for Good Stability and Ultrafast Speed Applied in Phase Change Memory

The Sb_6Te_4/VO_2 multilayer thin films are prepared by magnetron sputtering and the potential application in phase change memory is investigated in detail. Compared with Sb_6Te_4, Sb_6Te_4/VO_2 multilayer composite thin films have higher phase change temperature and crystallization resistance, indicating better thermal stability and less power consumption. Also, Sb_6Te_4/VO_2 has a broader energy band of 1.58 eV and better data retention(125℃ for 10 y). The crystallization is suppressed by the multilayer interfaces in Sb_6Te_4/VO_2 thin film with a smaller rms surface roughness for Sb_6Te_4/VO_2 than monolayer Sb_4Te_6. The picosecond laser technology is applied to study the phase change speed. A short crystallization time of 5.21 ns is realized for the Sb_6Te_4(2 nm)/VO_2(8 nm)thin film. The Sb_6Te_4/VO_2 multilayer thin film is a potential and competitive phase change material for its good thermal stability and fast phase change speed.     

Impulse response of Ge_2Sb_2Te_5-based ultrafast photodetector integrated with SOI waveguide

The impulse response for a phase-change material Ge_2Sb_2Te_5(GST)-based photodetector integrated with a silicon-on-insulator(SOI) waveguide is simulated using finite difference time domain method. The current is calculated by solving the drift-diffusion model for short pulse(～10 fs) excitation for both of the stable phases.Full width at half-maximum values of less than 1 ps are found in the investigation. The crystalline GST has higher 3 dB bandwidth than the amorphous GST at a 1550 nm wavelength with responsivities of 21 A/W and18.5 A/W, respectively, for a 150 nm thick GST layer biased at 2 V. A broad spectrum can be utilized by tuning the device using the phase-change property of material in the near infrared region.     

Acousto-optic Q-switched cladding-pumped ytterbium-doped fiber laser

A diode-pumped, acousto-optic Q-switched fiber laser is presented based on multimode ytterbium-doped fiber. The fiber with core diameter of 30 μm is used to increase the laser gain volume and the pulse energy efficiently. The average power in excess of 9 W is obtained at the repetition rate of 20 kHz with 66% slope efficiency. The pulse width is 198 ns with no evident amplified spontaneous emission between pulses, thus the pulse energy and peak power are 465 μJ and 2.36 kW, respectively.     

Strain Engineering for Germanium-on-Insulator Mobility Enhancement with Phase Change Liner Stressors

We investigate the strain in various Ge-on-insulator(GeOI) micro-structures induced by three phase-change materials(PCMs)(Ge_2Sb_2Te_5, Sb_2Te_3, GeTe) deposited. The PCMs could change the phase from amorphous state to polycrystalline state with a low temperature thermal annealing, resulting in an intrinsic contraction in the PCM films. Raman spectroscopy analysis is performed to compare the strain induced in the GeOI microstructures by various PCMs. By comparison, Sb_2Te_3 could induce the largest amount of tensile strain in the GeOI micro-structures after the low temperature annealing. Based on the strain calculated from the Raman peak shifts,finite element numerical simulation is performed to calculate the strain-induced electron mobility enhancement for Ge n-MOSFETs with PCM liner stressors. With the adoption of Sb_2Te_3 liner stressor, 22% electron mobility enhancement at N_(inv)= 1×10~(13) cm~(-2) could be achieved, suggesting that PCM especially Sb_2Te_3 liner stressor is a promising technique for the performance enhancement of Ge MOSFETs.     

272 W quasi-single-mode picosecond pulse laser of ytterbium-doped large-mode-area photonic crystal fiber

A large-mode-area(LMA) ytterbium-doped photonic crystal fiber(PCF) with core NA of 0.034 and core diameter of 50 μm was made by the stack-and-draw technique. The core is formed by Yb~(3+)/Al~(3+)/F-/P~(5+) co-doped silica glass containing 0.09 mol% Yb_2O_3 with an absorption coefficient at 976 nm up to 3.2 d B/m. The core glass with homogeneous distribution of Yb~(3+) ions and refractive index difference of 4 × 10~(-4) compared with pure silica was prepared by the sol-gel method and heat homogenization at 2000°C. Laser power amplification of this LMA PCF was studied using a seed source of 21 ps pulse duration and 48.7 MHz repetition rate at 1030 nm wavelength. With pump power of 520 W, a maximum 272 W(266 k W peak power) quasi-single-mode laser output with M~2 of 2.2 was achieved in a 4.7 m fiber length bent at a diameter of 47 cm with slope efficiency of 52%, and no obvious mode instability, stimulated Raman scattering, or thermal damage on the end facet of the fiber were observed.     

Numerical investigation on broadband mid-infrared supercontinuum generation in chalcogenide suspended-core fibers

As_2S_3 and As_2Se_3 chalcogenide 3-bridges suspended-core fibers(SCFs) are designed with shifted zero-dispersion wavelengths(ZDWs) at around 1.5 μm, 2 μm, and 2.8 μm, respectively. A generalized nonlinear Schr ¨odinger equation is used to numerically compare supercontinuum(SC) generation in these SCFs pumped at an anomalous dispersion region nearby their ZDWs. Evolutions of the long-wavelength edge(LWE), the power proportion in the long-wavelength region(PPL), and spectral flatness(SF) are calculated and analyzed. Meanwhile, the optimal pump parameters and fiber length are given with LWE, PPL, and SF taken into account. For As_2S_3 SCFs, SC from a 14 mm-long fiber with a ZDW of 2825 nm pumped at 2870 nm can achieve the longest LWE of ～ 13 μm and PPL up to ～72%. For As_2Se_3 SCFs, the LWE of 15.5 μm and the highest PPL of ～ 87% can be achieved in a 10 mm-long fiber with ZDW of 1982 nm pumped at 2000 nm. Although the As_2Se_3 SCFs can achieve much longer LWE than the As_2S_3 SCFs, the core diameter of As_2Se_3 SCFs will be much smaller to obtain a similar ZDW, leading to lower damage threshold and output power. Finally, the optimal parameters for generating SC spanning over different mid-IR windows are given.     

Wavelength-Tunable Rectangular Pulse Dissipative Soliton Operation of an Erbium-Doped Mode-Locked Fiber Laser

The wavelength-tunable rectangular pulse dissipative soliton （DS） is experimentally demonstrated, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, in an erbium-doped figure-of-eight fiber laser based on the nonlinear amplifying loop mirror mode-locked technique. The proposed rectangular pulse DS fiber laser can operate in the wavelength- tunable mode-locked state from 1573.5nm to 159d.6 nm with the rotation of the polarization controllers. The achieved output wavelengths are 1573.5nm, 1576.3nm, 1586.8nm, 1590.4nm and 1594.6nm, respectively. The pulse widths of the rectangular pulse can also be tuned from ~8ns to ~24ns by adjusting the pump power. The fundamental repetition rate of the rectangular pulse DS is 1.154 MHz and the output power is 6.1d m W （at 1594.6 nm）.     

Dual-Wavelength Holmium-Doped Fiber Laser Pumped by Thulium-Ytterbium Co-Doped Fiber Laser

We present an all-fiber dual-wavelength holmium-doped fiber laser operating in 2 μm region using a newly developed holmium-doped fiber(HDF) as a gain medium.The proposed fiber laser is constructed by using a hybrid gain medium,i.e.,a thulium-ytterbium co-doped fiber(TYDF) and an HDF in conjunction with a simple half-opened linear cavity,which is formed by a broadband mirror and an output coupler reflector.Without the HDF,the TYDF laser operates at wavelengths of 1991 and 1999 nm with a signal-to-noise ratio of more than 34 dB and the slope efficiency of 26.16%.With the HDF,dual-wavelength output lines are obtained at 2075 and 2083 nm with signal-to-noise ratios of more than 17 dB,3dB bandwidth of less than 0.2 nm and the power difference between the two peaks of less than 1 dB at the TYDF laser pump power of 320 mW.     

Raman spectra and XPS studies of phase changes in Ge2Sb2Te5 films

Ge_2Sb_2Te_5 film was deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on Si (100) substrate. The structure of amorphous and crystalline Ge_2Sb_2Te_5 thin films was investigated using XRD, Raman spectra and XPS. XRD measurements revealed the existence of two different crystalline phases, which has a FCC structure and a hexagonal structure, respectively. The broad peak in the Raman spectra of amorphous Ge_2Sb_2Te_5 film is due to the amorphous －Te－-Te－ stretching. As the annealing temperature increases, the broad peak separates into two peaks, which indicates that the heteropolar bond in GeTe_4 and the Sb－Sb bond are connected with four Te atoms, and other units such as (TeSb) Sb－Sb (Te_2) and (Sb_2) Sb－Sb (Te_2), where some of the four Te atoms in the above formula are replaced by Sb atoms, remain in crystalline Ge_2Sb_2Te_5 thin film. And from the results of Raman spectra and XPS, higher the annealing temperature, more Te atoms bond to Ge atoms and more Sb atoms substitute Te in (Te_2) Sb－Sb (Te_2).     

A novel 2-μm pulsed fiber laser based on a supercontinuum source and its application to mid-infrared supercontinuum generation

A new method to achieve 2-μm pulsed fiber lasers based on a supercontinuum(SC) is demonstrated. The incident pump light is a pulsed SC which contains a pump light and a signal light at the same time. The initial signal of the seed laser is provided by the incident pump light and amplified in the cavity. Based on this, we obtain a 2-μm pulsed laser with pulse repetition rate of 50 kHz and pulse width of 2 ns from the Tm-doped fiber laser. This 2-μm pulsed laser is amplified by two stages of fiber amplifiers, then the amplified laser is used for mid-infrared(mid-IR) SC generation in a 10-m length of ZrF4–BaF2–LaF3–AlF3–NaF(ZBLAN) fiber. An all-fiber-integrated mid-IR SC with spectrum ranging from 1.8 μm to4.3 μm is achieved. The maximal average output power of the mid-IR SC from the ZBLAN fiber is 1.24 W(average output power beyond 2.5 μm is 340 mW), corresponding to an output efficiency of 6.6% with respect to the 790-nm pump power.     

Dark pulse emission in nonlinear polarization rotation-based multiwavelength mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser

We experimentally show dark pulse generation in all-normal dispersion multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber laser（EDFL） with a long cavity of figure-of-eight configuration. The EDFL generates a stable multiwavelength laser with 0.47 nm spacing at 24 m W threshold pump power, while the number of lines obtained increases with the pump power. A dark pulse emission is observed as the pump power is increased above 137 m W, with fundamental repetition rate of 29 k Hz and pulse width of 2.7 μs. It is observed that the dark pulse train can be shifted to second-, third-, and fourth-order harmonic dark pulses by carefully adjusting the polarization controller. For the fundamental dark pulse, the maximum pulse energy of 32.4 n J is obtained at pump power of 146.0 mW.     

Mode-locked 2 μm fiber laser with a multi-walled carbon nanotube as a saturable absorber

We propose and demonstrate a passively mode-locked fiber laser operating at 1951.8 nm using a commercial thulium-doped fiber(TDF) laser, a homemade double-clad thulium–ytterbium co-doped fiber(TYDF)as the gain media, and a multi-walled carbon nanotube(MWCNT) based saturable absorber(SA). We prepare the MWCNT composite by mixing a homogeneous solution of MWCNTs with a diluted polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) polymer solution and then drying it at room temperature to form a film. The film is placed between two fiber connectors as a SA before it is integrated into a laser ring cavity. The cavity consists of a 2 m long TDF pumped by a 800 nm laser diode and a 15 m long homemade TYDF pumped by a 905 nm multimode laser diode. A stable mode-locking pulse with a repetition rate of 34.6 MHz and a pulse width of 10.79 ps is obtained when the 905 nm multimode pump power reaches 1.8–2.2 W, while the single-mode 800 nm pump power is fixed at 141.5 m W at all times. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported mode-locked fiber laser using a MWCNT-based SA.     

Short Tm^3＋-doped fiber lasers with watt-level output near 2 μm

High-power operation of diode-pumped fiber lasers at wavelength near 2 μm are demonstrated with short length of heavily Tm^3＋-doped silica glass fibers. With 7-cm long fiber, a laser at near 2 μm is obtained with the threshold of 135 mW, maximum output power of 1.09 W, and slope efficiency of 9.6% with respect to the launched power from a laser diode at 790 nm. The output stability of this fiber laser is within 5%. The dependence of the performance of fiber lasers on the operation temperature and cavity configuration parameters is also investigated.     

Mid-infrared Er:ZBLAN fiber laser reaching 3.68 μm wavelength

We report a continuous-wave Er:ZBLAN fiber laser with the operation wavelength reaching 3.68 μm.The midinfrared Er:ZBLAN fiber laser is pumped with the dual-wavelength sources consisting of a commercial laser diode at 970 nm and a homemade Tm-doped fiber laser at 1973 nm.By increasing the launched pump power at1973 nm,the laser wavelength can be switched from 3.52 to 3.68 μm.The maximum output power of 0.85 W is obtained with a slope efficiency of 25.14% with respect to the 1973 nm pump power.In the experiment,the laser emission at 3.68 μm is obtained with a significant power of 0.62 W,which is the longest emission wavelength in free-running Er:ZBLAN fiber lasers.     

All-fiber,wavelength-tunable ultrafast praseodymium fiber laser

The interest in tunable ultrafast fiber lasers operating in the 1.3 μm region has seen a significant increase due to rising demands for bandwidth as well as the zero-dispersion characteristic of silica fibers in this wavelength region. In this work, a tunable mode-locked praseodymium-doped fluoride fiber(PDFF) laser using single-walled carbon nanotubes as a saturable absorber is demonstrated. The mode-locked pulses are generated at a central wavelength of 1302 nm with a pulse repetition rate of 5.92 MHz and pulse width of 1.13 ps. The tunability of the mode-locked PDFF laser covers a tuning range of 11 nm.     

A 5.9-mJ 500-Hz Electro-Optic Q-Switched 1053 nm Nd：LiLuF4 Laser

An efficient and high power 1053 nm electro-optic Q-switched Nd：LiLuF4 laser, end-pumped by two fiber coupled laser diodes at wavelength 806 nm, is reported for the first time. With an incident pump power of 24.4 W, the maximum laser output power of 7.3 W is achieved in free-running mode, and the optical conversion efficiency is 29.8%. For the Q-switched operation, the shortest pulse width of 17ns is obtained at the pulse repetition rate of 500 Hz, corresponding to the pulse energy of 5.9mJ with the peak power of 0.35 MW.     

2-μm mode-locked nanosecond fiber laser based on MoS_2 saturable absorber

We demonstrated a 2-μm passively mode-locked nanosecond fiber laser based on a MoS_2 saturable absorber(SA).Owing to the effect of nonlinear absorption in the MoS_2 SA, the pulse width decreased from 64.7 to 13.8 ns with increasing pump power from 1.10 to 1.45 W. The use of a narrow-bandwidth fiber Bragg grating resulted in a central wavelength and 3-dB spectral bandwidth of 2010.16 and 0.15 nm, respectively. Experimental results show that MoS_2 is a promising material for a 2-μm mode-locked fiber laser.     

High stability supercontinuum generation in lead silicate SF57 photonic crystal fibers

We report supercontinuum (SC) generation in a lead silicate SF57 photonic crystal fiber by using a 1550 nm pump source. The effective nonlinear coefficient of the SF57 fiber is simulated to be 111.5 W-1 ·km-1 at 1550 nm. The fiber also shows ultraflat dispersion from 1700 nm to 2100 nm. Our results reveal that with an increase of the average power of the incident pulse from 10 mW to 90 mW, the SC of the SF57 photonic crystal fiber is generated from 1300 nm to 1900 nm with high stability and without significant change in spectral broadening.     

Deflection angle switching with a metasurface based on phase-change nanorods [Invited]

We propose the active metasurface using phase-change material Ge_2Sb_2Te_5(GST), which has two distinct phases so called amorphous and crystalline phases, for an ultrathin light path switching device. By arranging multiple anisotropic GST nanorods, the gradient metasurface, which has opposite directions of phase gradients at the two distinct phases of GST, is demonstrated theoretically and numerically. As a result, in the case of normal incidence of circularly polarized light at the wavelength of 1650 nm, the cross-polarized light deflects to-55.6° at the amorphous phase and +55.6° at the crystalline phase with the signal-to-noise ratio above 10 dB.