Open AccessGold nanoparticles as a saturable absorber for visible 635 nm Q-switched pulse generation
Author(s) -
Duanduan Wu,
Jian Peng,
Zhiping Caï,
Jian Weng,
Zhengqian Luo,
Nan Chen,
Huiying Xu
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.23.024071
Subject(s) - saturable absorption , materials science , q switching , fiber laser , optics , optoelectronics , laser , pulse duration , surface plasmon resonance , praseodymium , visible spectrum , absorption (acoustics) , pulse (music) , nanoparticle , nanotechnology , wavelength , physics , detector , metallurgy , composite material
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 (Pr(3+))-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.