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Wideband-tuneable, nanotube mode-locked, fibre laser

Nature Nanotechnology volume 3, pages 738–742 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Ultrashort-pulse lasers with spectral tuning capability have widespread applications in fields such as spectroscopy, biomedical research and telecommunications1,2,3. Mode-locked fibre lasers are convenient and powerful sources of ultrashort pulses4, and the inclusion of a broadband saturable absorber as a passive optical switch inside the laser cavity may offer tuneability over a range of wavelengths5. Semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors are widely used in fibre lasers4,5,6, but their operating range is typically limited to a few tens of nanometres7,8, and their fabrication can be challenging in the 1.3–1.5 µm wavelength region used for optical communications9,10. Single-walled carbon nanotubes are excellent saturable absorbers because of their subpicosecond recovery time, low saturation intensity, polarization insensitivity, and mechanical and environmental robustness11,12,13,14,15,16. Here, we engineer a nanotube–polycarbonate film with a wide bandwidth (>300 nm) around 1.55 µm, and then use it to demonstrate a 2.4 ps Er3+-doped fibre laser that is tuneable from 1,518 to 1,558 nm. In principle, different diameters and chiralities of nanotubes could be combined to enable compact, mode-locked fibre lasers that are tuneable over a much broader range of wavelengths than other systems.

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Figure 1: Optical characterization of the composite films.
Figure 2: Laser setup and mode-locker assembly.
Figure 3: Wavelength tuning.
Figure 4: Mode-locking characteristics.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge funding from the Isaac Newton trust, The Royal Society-Brian Mercer Award for Innovation and the European Research Council Grant NANOPOTS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, 9 JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0FA, UK

    F. Wang, A. G. Rozhin, V. Scardaci, Z. Sun, I. H. White, W. I. Milne & A. C. Ferrari

  2. Institut für Nanotechnologie Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, 76021, Germany

    F. Hennrich

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Correspondence to A. C. Ferrari.

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Wang, F., Rozhin, A., Scardaci, V. et al. Wideband-tuneable, nanotube mode-locked, fibre laser. Nature Nanotech 3, 738–742 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2008.312

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