Joe Win Chiam, Harith Ahmad, Manuel Sanchez-Sanchez, Jemal Mohammed Yassin, Zulkifli Mahmoodin, Mousa Hussein, Shufeng Sun, Kavintheran Thambiratnam
While Fe-BTC, a semiamorphous metal–organic framework (MOF), has been established for gas storage and catalysis, its application as a saturable absorber (SA) remains unexplored. In this work, Fe-BTC was successfully implemented as an optical modulator to generate ultrafast pulses in a thulium-holmium-doped fiber laser (THDFL). Fe-BTC was drop-casted on an arc-shaped fiber to form the optical modulator, yielding a modulation depth of 2.1%. With a 3-dB spectral bandwidth of 2.7 nm, the output wavelength was centered at 1896.7 nm. The repetition rate was 14.7 MHz, and the pulse width was 1.5 ps, corresponding to an optical peak power of 91 W and a pulse energy of 136 pJ. The system operated steadily, as evidenced by its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of around 55 dB. This study reveals the capabilities of Fe-BTC as a low-cost saturable absorber for ultrafast fiber lasers. © 2026 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.
Photonics Research Centre, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia; Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia; Department of Physics, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica (ICP), CSIC, C/Marie Curie 2, Madrid, 28049, Spain; Department of Chemistry, Debre Berhan University, PO Box 445, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia; Universiti Kuala Lumpur, British Malaysian Institute (UniKL BMI), Batu 8, Jln Sungai Pusu, Selangor, 53100, Malaysia; Department of Electrical and Communication Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates; School of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology (QUT), Qingdao, China; Physics Department, Kulliyyah of Science, International Islamic University of Malaysia, Bandar Indera Mahkota, Pahang, Kuantan, 25200, Malaysia
