In-fiber microchannel device filled with a carbon nanotube dispersion for passive mode-lock lasing.
Fueled by their high third-order nonlinearity and nonlinear saturable absorption, carbon nanotubes (CNT) are expected to become an integral part of next-generation photonic devices such as all-optical switches and passive mode-locked lasers. However, in order to fulfill this expectation it is necessary to identify a suitable platform that allows the efficient use of the optical properties of CNT. In this paper, we propose and implement a novel device consisting of an optofluidic device filled with a dispersion of CNT. By fabricating a microchannel through the core of a conventional fiber and filling it with a homogeneous solution of CNTs on Dimethylformamide (DMF), a compact, all-fiber saturable absorber is realized. The fabrication of the micro-fluidic channel is a two-step process that involves femtosecond laser micro-fabrication and chemical etching of the laser-modified regions. All-fiber high-energy, passive mode-locked lasing is demonstrated with an output power of 13.5 dBm. The key characteristics of the device are compactness and robustness against optical, mechanical and thermal damage.
Martinez
Amos
A
Department of Electronic Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan. martinea@sagnac.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Zhou
Kaiming
K
Bennion
Ian
I
Yamashita
Shinji
S
D004867:Equipment Design; D007834:Lasers; D008422:Materials Testing; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D044085:Microfluidics; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry
D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D012997:Solvents