Utilizing iron phthalocyanines absorber for the generation of Q-switched and mode-locked pulses

• Published in: Optik
• Main Author: Wadi N.I.S.; Kadir R.A.; Jusoh Z.; Ahmed N.; Khudus M.I.M.A.; Salam S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier GmbH 2024
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85185302285&doi=10.1016%2fj.ijleo.2024.171665&partnerID=40&md5=9a8d638298188dcb3b736c16a29136bc

We demonstrated the generation of Q-switched and mode-locked erbium-doped fiber lasers (EDFLs) by utilizing iron phthalocyanines (FePc) based saturable absorber (SA). The SA film under investigation was fabricated by embedding the FePc compound into a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film. Upon integration into the EDFL cavity, we achieved a stable Q-switched pulse train at 1531.3 nm when the pump power exceeded the threshold of 35.2 mW. The laser delivered a minimum pulse width of 4.34 µs, a peak repetition rate of 48.6 kHz, and a maximum pulse energy of 53.6 nJ under a maximum pump power of 62.9 mW. By extending the cavity length, a mode-locked soliton pulse was achieved with a duration of 2.1 ps. Operating at 1531.2 nm and a repetition rate of 968.1 kHz, the laser demonstrated consistent performance within a pump power range of 118.5 to 149.8 mW. At the maximum pump power of 149.8 mW, the laser exhibited a peak power of 1.55 kW and a pulse envelope energy of 3.64 nJ. Notably, this study marks a pioneering achievement as it represents the first instance of obtaining both Q-switched and mode-locked pulses in a fiber laser employing FePc as a SA. © 2024 Elsevier GmbH