Ziqi Li

Ion beam modification of two-dimensional materials: Characterization, properties, and applications

The layered two-dimensional (2D) materials, e.g., the well-known graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, and topological insulators, have attracted great interest of researchers from fundamental research as well as industries owing to their intriguing properties in a number of aspects. In practical applications, the efficient modification of the features of 2D materials is compelling and essential to achieve desired functionalities. Ion implantation has been successfully applied to synthesize graphene. The most exotic advantage of ion beam technology is that it offers distinct options of energetic beams, which has recently shown the unique capability to modify and tailor the properties of versatile 2D materials. To name a few, the energetic ion beams could implement the surface morphology or layer-to-layer structural engineering of 2D materials. At the microcosmic level, the introduction of ion beam induced defects and intentional doping of specific ions are the basis of tailoring properties of 2D mat...

Tin diselenide as a new saturable absorber for generation of laser pulses at 1μm

The nonlinear optical responses of two-dimensional (2D) few-layer tin diselenide (SnSe2) have been investigated in this work. By applying the Z-scan technique, the saturable absorption of SnSe2 thin film has been observed at a wavelength of ~1μm, which enables SnSe2, a new saturable absorber for pulsed laser generation. A detailed exploration of the nonlinear absorption of SnSe2 film and their dependence on excitation pulse energy is carried out. Our results show that saturation intensity of the nonlinear absorption is ~23.78 GW/cm2 and corresponding nonlinear absorption coefficients are at a range from -13596 to -2967.3 cm/GW. By employing the SnSe2-coated mirror as a saturable absorber, the passively Q-switched lasing has been achieved on a crystalline waveguide platform at ~1 μm.

6.5 GHz Q-switched mode-locked waveguide lasers based on two-dimensional materials as saturable absorbers

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have generated great interest in the past few years opening up a new dimension in the development of optoelectronics and photonics. In this paper, we demonstrate 6.5 GHz fundamentally Q-switched mode-locked lasers with high performances in the femtosecond laser-written waveguide platform by applying graphene, MoS2 and Bi2Se3 as saturable absorbers (SAs). The minimum mode-locked pulse duration was measured to be as short as 26 ps in the case of Bi2Se3 SA. The maximum slope efficiency reached 53% in the case of MoS2 SA. This is the first demonstration of Q-switched mode-locked waveguide lasers based on MoS2 and Bi2Se3 in the waveguide platform. These high-performance Q-switched mode-locked waveguide lasers based on 2D materials pave the way for practical applications of compact ultrafast photonics.

Laser-writing of ring-shaped waveguides in BGO crystal for telecommunication band

We report on the fabrication of ring-shaped waveguides operating at the telecommunication band in a cubic Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) crystal by using technique of femtosecond laser writing. In the regions of laser written tracks in BGO crystal, positive refractive index is induced, resulting in so-called Type I configuration. The modal profiles are within the designed track cladding with ring-shaped geometries, which are analogous to circular optical lattices. The homogenous guidance along both TE and TM polarizations has been obtained at telecommunication wavelength of 1.55 μm. Both straight and S-curved waveguiding structures have been produced with ring-shaped configurations. This work paves the way to fabricate complex photonic networks for telecommunications by using ring-shaped waveguides in compact chips.

Invited Article: Mode-locked waveguide lasers modulated by rhenium diselenide as a new saturable absorber

The layered two-dimensional (2D) materials with extraordinary optical properties play important roles in the development of ultrafast photonics, in which mode-locking lasers with a high fundamental repetition rate (>1 GHz) are of particular interest. The nonlinear optical properties of one of the emerging 2D materials, rhenium diselenide (ReSe2), have been investigated for the first time. Broadband ultrafast saturable absorption of ReSe2 from the visible to the near infrared wavelength regimes has been observed, which enables potential applications in ultrafast lasing. With typical end-pump arrangement, continuous-wave mode-locking based on the ReSe2 saturable absorber has been realized, reaching a fundamental repetition-rate of 6.5 GHz and pulse duration as short as 29 ps at 1 μm in a monolithic waveguide platform. This work indicates intriguing applications of ReSe2 for the development of on-chip ultrafast photonic devices.

All-laser-micromachining of ridge waveguides in LiNbO 3 crystal for mid-infrared band applications

The femtosecond laser micromachining of transparent optical materials offers a powerful and feasible solution to fabricate versatile photonic components towards diverse applications. In this work, we report on a new design and fabrication of ridge waveguides in LiNbO3 crystal operating at the mid-infrared (MIR) band by all-femtosecond-laser microfabrication. The ridges consist of laser-ablated sidewalls and laser-written bottom low-index cladding tracks, which are constructed for horizontal and longitudinal light confinement, respectively. The ridge waveguides are found to support good guidance at wavelength of 4 μm. By applying this configuration, Y-branch waveguiding structures (1 × 2 beam splitters) have been produced, which reach splitting ratios of ∼1:1 at 4 μm. This work paves a simple and feasible way to construct novel ridge waveguide devices in dielectrics through all-femtosecond-laser micro-processing.