Acrylate polymer coated side-polished fiber with graphene oxide nanoparticles for ultrafast fiber laser operation

• Main Authors: Ahmad, Harith, Zulkifli, Ahmad Zarif, Tiu, Zian Cheak
• Format: Article
• Published: IOP Publishing 2018
• Subjects: Q Science (General); QC Physics
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/22680/; https://doi.org/10.1088/1555-6611/aad93b
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

In this work, a mode-locked fiber laser with a side-polished fiber coated with graphene oxide nanoparticles as a saturable absorber (SA) is proposed and demonstrated. The SA is further coated with an acrylate polymer layer to add strength and durability, thus enabling real-world applications to be realized. The coated SA is capable of generated a pulsed output with a pulse width, pulse energy and pulse peak power of 1.09 ps, 0.013 nJ and 0.012 kW respectively. The cavity has a threshold power of 131.7 mW, and the output signals have a constant signal-to-noise ratio of about 33 dB over a test period of 1 h, indicating a highly stable output. The protective polymer coating allows a simple way to manufacture a rugged device with no penalty to performance.