Won Bae Cho

Passive mode locking of Yb:KLuW using a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber

Mode locking of an Yb-doped bulk laser in the 1 microm spectral range using a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber (SWCNT-SA) is demonstrated for the first time, to our knowledge. Passive mode locking of an Yb:KLuW laser resulted in nearly transform-limited pulses as short as 115 fs at 1048 nm. In addition, the nonlinear response of the SWCNT-SA was measured, yielding a modulation depth of 0.25% and a relaxation time of 750 fs.

Passive mode-locking of a Tm-doped bulk laser near 2 µm using a carbon nanotube saturable absorber

Stable and self-starting mode-locking of a Tm:KLu(WO(4))(2) crystal laser is demonstrated using a transmission-type single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) based saturable absorber (SA). These experiments in the 2 microm regime utilize the E11 transition of the SWCNTs for nonlinear saturable absorption. The recovery time of the SWCNT-SA is measured by pump-probe measurements as approximately 1.2 ps. The mode-locked laser delivers approximately 10 ps pulses near 1.95 microm with a maximum output power of up to 240 mW at 126 MHz repetition rate.

High-quality, large-area monolayer graphene for efficient bulk laser mode-locking near 1.25 μm

High-quality monolayer graphene as large as 1.2×1.2 cm2 was synthesized by chemical vapor deposition and used as a transmitting saturable absorber for efficient passive mode-locking of a femtosecond bulk solid-state laser. The monolayer graphene mode-locked Cr:forsterite laser was tunable around 1.25 μm and delivered sub-100 fs pulses with output powers up to 230 mW. The nonlinear optical characteristics of the monolayer graphene saturable absorber and the mode-locked operation were then compared with the case of the bilayer graphene saturable absorber.

Fabrication and characterization of ultrafast carbon nanotube saturable absorbers for solid-state laser mode locking near 1μm

Transmitting and reflecting ultrafast saturable absorbers based on single-walled carbon nanotubes are developed that are applicable for stable mode locking of bulk solid-state lasers operating near 1μm. For fabrication of these saturable absorbers, relatively simple spin coating and spray methods are employed. Parameters important for stable mode locking, such as transient nonlinear absorption, saturation fluence, and recovery time, are investigated by nonlinear transmission and time-resolved pump-probe measurements near 1μm. Typical modulation depths and recovery times amount to ∼0.21%–0.25% and <1ps, respectively.

Mode-locked self-starting Cr:forsterite laser using a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber

We report what we believe to be the first passive mode-locking of Cr:forsterite laser using a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber (SWCNT-SA). The dispersion-compensated Cr:forsterite laser in a self-starting configuration produces nearly Fourier transform-limited pulses as short as 120 fs near 1.25 microm. The maximum average output power of 202 mW obtained with a 5% output coupler at a repetition rate of 79.1 MHz represents, to the best of our knowledge, the highest power level ever reported for SWCNT-SA mode locking of solid-state lasers.

Sub-100 fs single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber mode-locked Yb-laser operation near 1 µm

Transmission- and reflection-type single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorbers (SWCNT-SAs) were designed and fabricated for passive mode-locking of bulk lasers in the 1 microm spectral range. Mode-locked laser operation based on a diffusion-bonded Yb:KYW/KYW crystal was demonstrated, and pulses as short as 83 fs and 140 fs were achieved applying reflection-type and transmission-type SWCNT-SA, respectively. The nonlinear parameters of the absorbers were measured to be in close vicinity to those of a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror for the same wavelength range. Mode-locking performance with SWCNT-SAs and the SESAM was compared utilizing the same cavity, with the SESAM resulting in only slightly shorter pulses of 66 fs duration. The nearly identical performance indicates that well-optimized SWCNT-SAs can substitute SESAMs even in the 1 microm region.

Single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber assisted high-power mode-locking of a Ti:sapphire laser

We report on passive mode-locking of a Ti:sapphire laser employing a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber (SWCNT-SA) specially designed and fabricated for wavelengths near 800 nm. Mode-locked pulses as short as 62 fs were generated at a repetition rate of 99.4 MHz. We achieved output powers from the SWCNT-SA mode-locked laser as high as 600 mW with a slope efficiency of 26%. The characteristics of SWCNT-SA-assisted mode-locking were compared with those of Kerr-lens mode-locking without SWCNT-SA.

Sub-100-fs Cr:YAG laser mode-locked by monolayer graphene saturable absorber

We report on mode-locking of a Cr:YAG laser at 1516 nm using a monolayer graphene-based saturable absorber of transmission type generating 91 fs pulses with a Fourier product of 0.38 at an average output power exceeding 100 mW. Stable single-pulse mode-locked operation without any sign of Q-switching instabilities or multiple pulses is achieved.

Mode locking of a Cr:YAG laser with carbon nanotubes

We report on mode locking of a bulk Cr:YAG laser by using a transmission-type single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber. Stable and self-starting laser operation in the picosecond and femtosecond regimes is obtained at wavelengths around 1.5 microm. Tunable transform-limited sub-100 fs pulses are generated at a repetition rate of 85 MHz with an output power up to 110 mW.

Fabrication and characterization of single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorbers for solid-state laser mode-locking near 1 μm

Ultrafast single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorbers were fabricated and optimized for mode-locking solid-state lasers near 1 mum. Their typical modulation depth and recovery time were measured to be Gt 0.3% and ~ 750 fs, respectively.