Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser based on nanodiamond saturable absorber

In this paper, we investigate nanodiamond (ND) particles as saturable absorber (SA) to produce Q-switched pulses in Erbium doped fiber laser (EDFL). The solid nanocomposite film is prepared by the drop-casting method where ND is embedded into polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene (PVDF-TRFE) as a host polymer. Both physical and optical properties of the prepared film are experimentally demonstrated. To analyze the structure of fabricated ND-PVDF-TRFE film, various measurement methods are adopted. The ND-SA is positioned in the ring cavity of the EDFL to explore their abilities for generating stable Q-switched pulses. The results show that the fabricated ND-SA can generate stable laser pulses. Furthermore, the ND composite film proves that 10% of ND could be presented as an excellent promising material for various photonic applications. The Q-switched EDFL with 10% ND-SA began to self-start of stable Q-switch pulse at a saturated pump power of 59 mW with a 77.84 kHz repetition rate and pulse width of 4.34 mu s. Besides, at a pump power of 187 mW, the Q-switched EDFL generates very stable pulses with a wavelength of 1558 nm, a repetition rate of 127.2 kHz, pulse duration of 1.565 mu s, and an output power of 0.447 mW.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the use of nanodiamond particles as a saturable absorber in Erbium-doped fiber lasers to generate stable Q-switched pulses, demonstrating the promising potential of 10% nanodiamond as a material for various photonic applications. The results showed that the fabricated nanodiamond saturable absorber could produce stable laser pulses, with the Q-switched fiber laser achieving a self-start of stable Q-switch pulses at a specific pump power. The study highlights the stable performance and potential applications of nanodiamond-based saturable absorbers in fiber laser technology.