Comparison of Graphene and Carbon Nanotube Saturable Absorbers for Wavelength and Pulse Duration Tunability

Abstract

Graphene (Gr) and Carbon nanotube (CNT) saturable absorbers (SAs) are considered as broadband absorbers and have been used in various studies in the past to get a broad wavelength and pulse duration tunable laser. However, the literature lacks a comparative study on these SAs where one will continue to give longer pulses than the other. In this paper we have compared these two SAs and provided a guideline on how to design them for tunable operation. The parameters that have been compared in this research can be used for other broad gain materials and SAs.