Titanium dioxide-based picoseconds pulsed fiber laser performances comparison in the 1.5-micron region

Abstract

We demonstrated and compared picoseconds pulsed fiber lasers based on Titanium dioxide based saturable absorbers (SAs); 20 cm long Titanium dioxide-doped fiber (TiO2DF) and Titanium dioxide PVA film (TiO2PF) in the 1.5-micron region. The laser cavity utilized 2.4 m long Erbium-doped fiber (EDF) as the gain medium. A self-starting pulsed laser with a consistent repetition rate of ∼1 MHz emerged stably with the incorporation of TiO2 based SAs. The TiO2DF SA produced 9.74 ps pulsed laser at a central wavelength of 1553 nm within a pump power range of 106-142 mW. The fiber SA promoted slightly higher slope efficiency and maximum pulse energy of 13.17% and 8.56 nJ, respectively in comparison with the film SA. On the other hand, the TiO2PF SA generated stable 3.89 ps pulsed laser at an operating wavelength of 1560 nm within 86-142 mW pump power range. The film SA also produced slightly greater maximum output power of 12.17 mW and maximum peak power of 3.43 kW, respectively at the maximum pump power. The results confirmed that both TiO2 SAs can be good alternative pulse modulator in the 1.5-micron region.