High power L-band mode-locked fiber laser based on topological insulator saturable absorber

We demonstrate a passive mode-locked Er: Yb doped double-clad fiber laser using a microfiber-based topological insulator (Bi2Se (3)) saturable absorber (TISA). By optimizing the cavity loss and output coupling ratio, the mode-locked fiber laser can operate in L-band with high average output power. With the highest pump power of 5 W, 91st harmonic mode locking of soliton bunches with average output power of 308 mW was obtained. This is the first report that the TISA based erbium-doped fiber laser operating above 1.6 mu m and is also the highest output power yet reported in TISA based passive mode-locked fiber laser. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America