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.     

Analysis of Toxaphene

Abstract

Toxaphene, a widely and chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide produced by chlorination of camphene, consists of a poorly defined mixture of at least 180–190 substances. Most of these conform the formulars C₁₀H₁₈-_nCl_n and C₁₀H₁₆-_nCl_n, where n is 6–10. Although the chromatographic behaviour of the toxaphene components is extremely similar, seven components have been isolated up to now, six of which are hepta- to decachlor derivatives of bornane. In the following work, isolation and identification of these compounds with the help of spectroscopical methods are described and their behaviour under biotic and abiotic conditions are studied. The experiments shown, that toxaphene is slowly to rapidly degraded in various environmental systems.     

Preparation of Waterproof Organometal Halide Perovskite Photonic Crystal Beads

Herein, we report on an innovative method for the preparation of a series of organometal halide perovskite (OHP) photonic crystal beads with pronounced and tunable photonic stop bands by using self-assembled polystyrene spheres as a mold. After infiltration of the mold with OHP precursor solution and slow drying, the OHPs crystallized in the voids of the polystyrene arrays. By controlling the diameter of the polystyrene spheres, the photonic stop band of the OHPs could be precisely tuned. The overlap between the photonic stop band of the beads and the band gap of the OHPs enhances the light harvesting of the perovskite because of the slow photon effect, which arises from the photonic crystal beads. Moreover, the stability of the composite was greatly enhanced by coating with the transparent polymer PDMS without blocking the light propagation. The coated OHP photonic beads kept their composition even after having been in contact with water for 24 h.     

1028 nm single mode Ytterbium-doped fiber laser

An efficient Ytterbium-doped fiber laser (YDFL) operating at 1028 nm is demonstrated using a fiber Bragg grating (FBG). The Ytterbium-doped fiber (YDF) is drawn from Yb₂O₃-doped preform, fabricated through deposition of porous layer of composition SiO₂-GeO₂ by the MCVD process in conjunction with a solution doping technique. The fabricated YDF has a 0.1 mol % of Yb₂O₃ in the core, a Ytterbium ion lifetime of 1.1 ms, an absorption of 7.65 dB/m at 976 nm. The fiber laser has the maximum efficiency of 51% with pump power threshold of 19 mW using a FBG in conjunction with a Fresnel reflection to form a linear cavity resonator. The efficiency and threshold are better compared to the similar YDFL configuration using a commercial YDF.     

Ring microfiber coupler erbium-doped fiber laser analysis

A non-adiabatic microfiber coupler is fabricated by flame brushing technique and then theoretically and experimentally analyzed.The effective length of the microfiber coupler is determined by simulation,and a low-noise laser is demonstrated using various lengths of erbium-doped fiber(EDF) when incorporated in a laser setup.At 18.6-mW input pump power,the maximum output power of 20 μW and the lowest lasing threshold of 3.8 mW are obtained with a 90-cm-long EDF.     

Multi-wavelength ytterbium doped fiber laser based on longitudinal mode interference

Multi-wavelength Ytterbium-doped fiber laser (YDFL) is demonstrated using a longitudinal mode interference assisted by a four-wave mixing (FWM) effect in a ring laser cavity. The gain medium is a 16 m long of the fabricated (Ytterbium-doped fiber) YDF, which has a core composition of 0.8 wt % of Yb₂O₃, 1.8 wt % of Al₂O₃ and 23 wt % of GeO₂, Ytterbium ion fluorescence lifetime of 1.1 ms and absorption of 9.0 dB/m at the pump wavelength of 976 nm. 20 m long photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is used to provide FWM effect so that the energy of different oscillating lines can be redistributed to improve multi-wavelength operation. The proposed laser generates 12 lines of optical comb with a line spacing of approximately 0.59 nm at 1035 nm region.     

Optimization of gain flattened C-band EDFA using macro-bending

Optimization of gain flattened C-band erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) using a macrobending method with an improved gain flatness and bandwidth is demonstrated. The optimization for gain flatness and bandwidth was achieved by varying the bending radius and the length of the doped fiber. In the optimized condition, the gain saturation effect as well as the energy transfer from shorter wavelengths to longer wavelengths resulted in a flattened and broadened gain profile in the C-band region. The amplifier was optimized to a 9 m long erbium-doped fiber (EDF) with erbium ion concentration of 1100 ppm and bending radius of 6.5 mm. The gain variation of the EDFA is obtained within ±1 dB over 25 nm bandwidth of C-band region.     

High Enrichment of MMP-9 and Carboxypeptidase A by Tweezing Adsorptive Bubble Separation (TABS)

Tweezing adsorptive bubble separation (TABS) was used as a method for the enrichment of matrix metalloproteinases (92-kDa type IV, gelatinase B (MMP-9)) and carboxypeptidase A (CPA) from dilute aqueous solutions. The method is based on the chelation of metalloenzymes applying 2-(carbamoylmethyl-(carboxymethyl)amino)acetic acid (ADA) coupled with an octyl part to form a surface active unit. MMP-9 could be enriched with an enrichment ratio of 12.0 and a recovery of 87.3%, and CPA could be enriched 18.8-fold and with 95.3% recovery. Both enzymes were enriched without significant losses of enzymatic activity. To verify that the enzymes were tweezed by ADA-C8 without abstraction of the zinc ions from the active center, TABS trials were additionally conducted with zinc ions in complex with ADA-C8, which revealed only negligible enrichment ratios of the enzymes (2.2 for MMP-9 and 0.2 for CPA). The results obtained impressively demonstrate that zinc-containing proteases can be enriched selectively and efficiently by TABS.     

Structural colored gels for tunable soft photonic crystals

A periodically ordered interconnecting porous structure can be embodied in chemical gels by using closest‐packed colloidal crystals as templates. The interconnecting porosity not only provides a quick response but also endows the porous gels with structural color arising from coherent Bragg optical diffraction. The structural colors revealed by porous gels can be regulated by several techniques, and thus, it is feasible to obtain desirable, smart, soft materials. A well‐known thermosensitive monomer, N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPA), and other minor monomers were used to fabricate various structural colored gels. The selection of minor monomers depended on the targeted properties. This review focuses on the synthesis of templates, structural colored porous gels, and the applications of structural colored gel as smart soft materials for tunable photonic crystals. © 2009 The Japan Chemical Journal Forum and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Chem Rec 9: 87–105; 2009: Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ) DOI 10.1002/tcr.20169     

Diode-pumped 1028 nm Ytterbium-doped fiber laser with near 90% slope efficiency

Highly efficient laser action from an Ytterbium-doped fiber (YDF) is demonstrated using a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) in conjunction with a 4% Fresnel reflection at room temperature. The YDF used is drawn from Yb₂O₃-doped preform, fabricated through deposition of porous layer of composition SiO₂-GeO₂ by the MCVD process in conjunction with a solution doping technique. The fabricated YDF has a core composition of 0.2 wt % of Yb₂O₃, 1.8 wt % of Al₂O₃ and 23 wt % of GeO₂ with a pump absorption of 9.0 dB/m. The fiber laser operates at wavelength of 1028 nm with a slope efficiency of 88% with respect to the launched 976 nm pump power using the YDF length of 7 m.