H. Ahmad, N.A.M. Rusni, M.Z. Samion, N. Yusoff, M.K.A. Zaini, K. Thambiratnam, M.F. Ismail
In this paper, the mode-locking performance using bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) as a saturable absorber in a thulium-holmium-doped fiber laser (THDFL) was demonstrated for the first time. The saturable absorber (SA) was coated using an airbrush spraying technique onto two different hosts, arc-shaped and side-polished fibers. The airbrush was used to provide an even and uniform coating onto these two hosts. The generated mode-locked pulses of the arc-shaped fiber have a center wavelength of 1913.5 nm and a 3-dB bandwidth of 3.11 nm. The optical output has a repetition frequency of 13.9 MHz and an optical pulse width of 1.33 ps. In the case of the side-polished fiber, it has a center wavelength of 1918.55 nm and a 3-dB bandwidth of 2.60 nm. The output pulse has a repetition frequency of 12.16 MHz and an optical pulse width of 1.43 ps. This demonstration indicates that the arc-shaped fiber host has a better performance in terms of shorter pulse width, which is essential for a 2 μm laser in tissue ablation procedures for medical applications. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.
Photonics Research Centre, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia; Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia; Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, Jalan Semarang 5, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Universiti Kuala Lumpur British Malaysian Institute (UniKL BMI), Batu 8, Jalan Sungai Pusu Selangor, 53100, Malaysia; IIUM Quantum and Photonics Center, Kulliyyah of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia, Bandar Indera Makhota, Kuantan, 25200, Malaysia