Chirp-free hundred-picosecond pulse fiber laser based on carbon nanotubes mode-locker.

Abstract

We demonstrate a narrow bandwidth passively erbium-doped mode-locked fiber laser based on single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The center wavelength is 1546.61 nm. The strong filtering effect and low saturable absorber (SA) modulation depth provide advantages for a long pulse duration of 323 ps. An overall spectral bandwidth of 1.3 GHz (0.01 nm) is measured by the optical heterodyne method, representing the narrowest spectral width based on SWCNT under a single filter structure. The obtained spectral width is very close to the transform-limited bandwidth of 8 pm, indicating that the pulse is chirp-free. Meanwhile, the generation of beat signals reveals the strong coherence between pulses. The repetition frequency of the laser is 7.8 MHz, and the number of longitudinal mode locks is only 166, which is the minimum number of longitudinal mode-locking in passively mode-locked laser based on material SA. At the same time, numerical simulations further support our experimental results and reveal the pulse evolution, providing evidence that SA and filter are the key factors in the generation of chirp-free long pulse.