Samarium oxide film for picosecond mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser

Abstract

The saturable absorber device based on the samarium oxide film (Sm2O3) was employed inside the erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) cavity to initiate mode-locked at 1562 nm. A home-made Sm2O3-PVA had generated mode-locked laser with a pulse width of as short as 3.4 ps, corresponds to a repetition rate of 1.88 MHz. The EDFL cavity initiated stable mode-locked pulses within the pump power of 91 to 142 mW. At a maximum attainable pump power of 142 mW, a self-constructed laser cavity consumed maximum output power of 22.6 mW, corresponds to pulse energy of 12 nJ. Mode-locked EDFL generated was stable as it exhibits SNR of 68 dB and pumps efficiency of 15%. Our laser cavity was optimum as we captured stable mode-locked within a 1.55 µm region, thus open the potential for laser commercialization in the industry of micromachining and laser cutting technology. This demonstration shows the potential of samarium oxide as a saturable absorber in an all fiber-based laser cavity.