L-band passively harmonic mode-locked fiber laser based on a graphene saturable absorber

We have proposed and demonstrated an L-band passively harmonic mode-locked fiber laser based on a graphene saturable absorber (SA). By adjusting the pump power and the polarization controller, we have experimentally observed L-band fundamental and harmonic mode-locked optical pulses. The fundamental optical pulse has the duration of 1.3 ps, and the maximum average output power of 13.16 mW at the incident pump power of 98.8 mW. The order of the harmonic mode-locked optical pulses can be changed over the range from the second to the fourth. From the experimental results, we deduced that the likely origin of the harmonic mode-locked self-stabilization was the result of global and local soliton interactions induced by the unstability continuous wave (CW) components. (C) 2012 by Astro, Ltd.