Electron beam deposited silver (Ag) saturable absorber as passive Q-switcher in 1.5-and 2-micron fiber lasers

摘要

We demonstrate a passive Q-switching fiber laser using silver (Ag) as saturable absorber. The Ag-SA was fabricated using electron beam deposition technique onto a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) thin-film and possessed a low modulation depth of 2% at 1.5-micron wavelength. The Ag-SA then was incorporated into two fiber laser cavities, 1.5- and 2-micron. At 1.5-micron, a laser with average output power of 3.8 mW was produced, with narrowest pulse of 3.1 mu s. Besides, 2-micron able to produce high pulse energy of 161.7 nJ at pump power of 498 mW. Our experimental work suggest that the Ag saturable absorber is an effective solution for Q-switched generation in erbium-doped and thulium-doped fiber laser.