Switchable dual-wavelength Q-switched fiber
laser using multilayer black phosphorus as a
saturable absorber
JUNMIN LIU,
1,2,†
YU CHEN,
2,†
YING LI,
2
HAN ZHANG,
2
SHUIQIN ZHENG,
1,2
AND SHIXIANG XU
1,
*
1
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Micro-Nano Photonic Information Technology, College of Electronic Science and Technology,
Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
2
International Collaborative Laboratory of 2D Materials for Optoelectronics Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of
Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Optoelectronic Engineering,
Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
*Corresponding author: shxxu@szu.edu.cn
Received 20 November 2017; revised 16 January 2018; accepted 17 January 2018; posted 17 January 2018 (Doc. ID 313670);
published 27 February 2018
Black phosphorus (BP), with thickness-dependent direct energy bandgaps (0.3–2 eV), shows an enhanced non-
linear optical response at near- and mid-infrared wavel engths. In this paper, we present experimentally multilayer
BP flakes coated on microfiber (BCM) as a saturable absorber with a modulation depth of 16% and a saturable
intensity of 6.8MW∕cm
2
. After inserting BCM into an Er-doped fiber ring laser, a stable dual-wavelength
Q-switched state with central wavelengths of 1542.4 nm and 1543.2 nm (with wavelength spacing as small
as 0.8 nm) is obtained with the aid of two cascaded fiber Bragg gratings as a coarse wavelength selector.
Moreover, single-wavelength Q-switched operation at 1542.4 nm or 1543.2 nm is also realized, which can be
switched between the two wavelengths flexibly just by adjusting the intracavity birefringence. These results
suggest that BP combined with the cascaded fiber gratings can provide a simple and fea sible candidate for a
multiwavelength fiber laser. Our fiber laser may have potential applications in terahertz generation, laser radar,
and so on.
© 2018 Chinese Laser Press
OCIS codes: (140.3510) Lasers, fiber; (140.4050) Mode-locked lasers; (160.4330) Nonlinear optical materials; (190.7110) Ultrafast
nonlinear optics.
https://doi.org/10.1364/PRJ.6.000198
1. INTRODUCTION
Multiwavelength fiber lasers, particularly switchable multi-
wavelength fiber lasers, have widespread applications in envi-
ronmental sensing, optical communication, and microwave
radiation [1–5]. However, the homogeneous gain broadening
can not only cause inherent instability, but also enlarge the
wavelength spacing (usually greater than 1 nm) of their emit-
ting pulses [6,7], which makes it difficult to achieve stable mul-
tiwavelength pulse operation. Many efforts have been devoted
to stabilizing and narrowing the wavelength spacing of multi-
wavelength fiber lasers, such as via inhomogeneous loss mech-
anisms [8], the polarization hole burning effect [ 9], cooling Er-
doped fiber (EDF) in liquid nitrogen [10], and the four-wave
mixing (FWM) effect [11]. On the other hand, miniaturization
and integration of pulsed lasers have also drawn lots of atten-
tion. Inserting a saturable absorber (SA) is one of the most
effective methods of achieving a compact pulsed laser. As is
known, saturable absorption is mainly determined by the
imaginary part, while the FWM effect is dominated by the real
part, of the third-order optical nonlinearity. Therefore, an SA
with high third-order optical nonlinearity is preferred to obtain
a stable multiwavelength pulsed fiber laser with a small wave-
length space [12 ].
Recently, it is no exaggeration to say that two-dimensional
(2D) materials, particularly graphene, have triggered a flood
of interest in the field of all-optical devices, ultrafast lasers,
and optical communication, etc., due to their excellent nonlin-
ear optical properties [13,14]. Some experimental results show
that both graphene and topological insulators exhibit broad-
band saturable absorption at 800 nm [15], 1064 nm [16],
and 1550 nm [17], and even at terahertz spectral region [18].
Their applications for multiwavelength pulsed-laser ge neration
(Q-switched/mode locking) have been extensively studied
[19–25]. Moreover, graphene has a giant nonlinear refractive
index of n
2
∼ 10
−7
cm
2
· W
−1
, almost nine orders of magni-
tude larger than that of bulk dielectrics [26], and topological
198
Vol. 6, No. 3 / March 2018 / Photonics Research
Research Article
2327-9125/18/030198-06 Journal © 2018 Chinese Laser Press