Gold nanoparticles as a saturable absorber for visible 635 nm Q-switched pulse generation

Gold nanoparticle (GNP) possesses saturable absorption bands in the visible region induced by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). We firstly applied the GNP as a visible saturable absorber (SA) for the red Q-switched pulse generation. The GNPs were embedded in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) for film-forming and inserted into a praseodymium (Pr3+)-doped fiber laser cavity to achieve 635 nm passive Q-switching. The visible 635 nm Q-switched fiber laser has a wide range of pulse-repetition-rate from 285.7 to 546.4 kHz, and a narrow pulse width of 235 ns as well as the maximum output power of 11.1 mW. The results indicate that the GNPs-based SA is available for pulsed operation in the visible spectral range. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America