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

• Published in: Optik (Stuttgart) 2024-04, Vol.300, p.171665, Article 171665
• Main Authors: Wadi, Nurul Izzah S., Kadir, Rosmalini A., Jusoh, Zulzilawati, Ahmed, Norizan, Khudus, Muhammad Imran M.A., Salam, Sameer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Iron phthalocyanines; Mode-locking; Saturable absorber; Soliton pulse
• ISSN: 0030-4026; 1618-1336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijleo.2024.171665

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.