Title :
Laser mode locking using a saturable absorber incorporating carbon nanotubes
Author :
Set, Sze Y. ; Yaguchi, Hiroshi ; Tanaka, Yuichi ; Jablonski, Mark
Author_Institution :
Alnair Labs., Saitama, Japan
Abstract :
This paper describes a new class of saturable absorber device based on single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT)-the saturable absorber incorporating nano tube (SAINT). The device possesses ultrafast optical properties comparable to that of the industrial standard semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). Passively mode-locked picosecond fiber lasers in different configurations are demonstrated using SAINTs as mode lockers. This is the first demonstration of optical pulsed lasers based on the carbon nanotube technology, and the first practical application of carbon nanotubes in the field of applied optics.
Keywords :
carbon nanotubes; fibre lasers; high-speed optical techniques; laser mirrors; laser mode locking; optical saturable absorption; optical solitons; C; applied optics; carbon nanotubes; laser mode locking; optical pulsed lasers; passively mode-locked fiber laser; picosecond fiber lasers; saturable absorber; soliton; ultrafast optical properties; Carbon nanotubes; Fiber lasers; Fiber nonlinear optics; Laser mode locking; Nonlinear optics; Optical fiber devices; Optical fiber polarization; Optical pulses; Optical solitons; Ultrafast optics;
Journal_Title :
Lightwave Technology, Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JLT.2003.822205
