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Low-cost Custom Fabrication and Mode-locked Operation of an All-normal-dispersion Femtosecond Fiber Laser for Multiphoton Microscopy
Published on: November 22, 2019
WS2 mode-locked ultrafast fiber laser.
Dong Mao1, Yadong Wang1, Chaojie Ma1
1Key Laboratory of Space Applied Physics and Chemistry, Ministry of Education; and Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Optical Information Technology, School of Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China.
Few-layer tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanosheets demonstrate ultrafast nonlinear saturable absorption and a high optical damage threshold. These WS2 saturable absorbers enable stable soliton mode-locking in fiber lasers, showing promise for ultrafast optics.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics and Photonics
- Condensed Matter Physics
Background:
- Graphene-like two-dimensional (2D) materials, including transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) like WS2 and MoS2, are anisotropic layered compounds with significant research interest.
- Few-layer WS2 possesses remarkable physical properties, analogous to MoS2, making it a candidate for advanced optical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the ultrafast nonlinear saturable absorption property and high optical damage threshold of WS2 nanosheets for the first time.
- To investigate the feasibility of using WS2-based saturable absorbers in fiber laser systems for ultrafast optics.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of two types of WS2-based saturable absorbers: one by depositing WS2 nanosheets on a D-shaped fiber, and another by mixing WS2 solution with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and evaporating it.
- Integration of these WS2 saturable absorbers into an erbium-doped fiber laser cavity.
- Characterization of the laser performance under varying pump power, specifically focusing on mode-locking stability and optical damage.
Main Results:
- WS2 nanosheets exhibited significant ultrafast nonlinear saturable absorption and a high optical damage threshold.
- Stable soliton mode-locking operations were successfully achieved in an erbium-doped fiber laser using both fabricated WS2 saturable absorbers.
- The WS2 saturable absorbers operated stably at a maximum pump power of 600 mW without sustaining damage, confirming their robustness.
Conclusions:
- Few-layer WS2 is a promising high-power, flexible saturable absorber material for ultrafast optics.
- The demonstrated nonlinear optical properties of WS2 nanosheets open avenues for applications in high-power pulsed lasers, materials processing, and frequency comb spectroscopy.
