Scalable graphene electro-optical modulators for all-fibre pulsed lasers

Recently, graphene electro-optical modulators have emerged as a viable alternative to the conventional modulators due to their broadband operation, ultrafast responsivity, small footprint, and low energy consumption. Here, we report scalable graphene electro-optical modulators for all-fibre pulsed laser applications. An actively Q-switched all-fibre laser is demonstrated with a scalable graphene electro-optical modulator for the first time, which is different from the previously reported work that typically implemented graphene electro-optical modulators in a free-space optical system. Our electrically modulated actively Q-switched fibre laser outputs at the centre wavelength of similar to 1961.9 nm, the tunable repetition rate of 56.5 to 62.5 kHz, the maximum pulse energy of similar to 80 nJ, and the signal-to-noise ratio of similar to 46.6 dB. This work demonstrates that the scalable all-fibre integrated graphene electro-optical modulator approach is promising for producing pulsed fibre lasers at 2 mu m with high performance and easy integration which are useful in various applications such as medical treatment, material processing, and spectroscopy.

Automated summary

Graphene electro-optical modulators have emerged as a viable alternative to conventional modulators, offering broadband operation, ultrafast responsivity, small footprint, and low energy consumption. This study demonstrates the use of scalable graphene electro-optical modulators in all-fibre pulsed laser applications, showcasing its potential for high-performance 2 μm pulsed fibre lasers in various fields such as medical treatment, material processing, and spectroscopy.