Abstract

In this Letter, we present the mode-locking operation of a 2.87 µm ${{\rm{Ho}}^{3 +}}/{{\rm{Pr}}^{3 +}}$ codoped fluoride fiber laser, helped by the ultrafast nonlinear optical absorption behavior of gold nanowires (GNWs). The mode locker is fabricated by depositing the GNW solution onto a silver mirror. It has a modulation depth of 14.2%, a saturation intensity of ${26.2}\;{\rm{MW}}/{{\rm{cm}}^2}$, and a non-saturation loss of 29.9% at 2.87 µm. With an increased pump power, the laser operates in ${\rm{Q}}$-switched mode-locking, fundamental mode-locking, and harmonic mode-locking (HML) states. This represents the first, to our knowledge, mid-infrared mode-locked laser using gold nanomaterials. Additionally, the HML is also the first observation in a laser in this band using material saturable absorbers, implying the capability of GNWs for high repetition rate generation.

© 2021 Optical Society of America

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