A Perfect Graphene Absorber with Waveguide Coupled High-Contrast Gratings

To achieve the enhancement and manipulation of light absorption in graphene within the visible and near infrared regions, a design consists of high-contrast gratings and two evanescently coupled slabs with graphene monolayer is demonstrated. The operation principle and design process of the proposed structure are analyzed using the coupled mode theory, which is confirmed by the rigorous coupled wave analysis. It is proved that the absorptance of graphene monolayer can be greatly enhanced to unity. The thickness of grating and slab layers can significantly change the line width and resonant mode position in the absorption spectra. Furthermore, high tunability in amplitude and bandwidth of the absorption spectra can be achieved by controlling the structural parameters of the hybrid structure. The proposed devices could be efficiently exploited as tunable and selective absorbers, and could be allowed to realize other two-dimensional materials-based selective photo-detectors.

Ultra-broadband and polarization-independent planar absorber based on multilayered graphene

We propose an ultra-broadband and polarization independent planar absorber comprising multilayered graphene. The bandwidth of the proposed absorber is extended by increasing the number of layers of graphene, and it is polarization independent due to its symmetrical unit structure. The full wave simulation results show that an absorber with three graphenebased layers can efficiently harvest an electromagnetic wave with random polarization from 17.9 GHz to 188.7 GHz（i.e.,covering frequency regimes from K to D bands and relative bandwidth of - 165%）. The physical absorption mechanism of ultra-broadband absorption has been elaborated upon using the destructive interference method and multiple resonances approach in a multilayered medium. The proposed absorber can be used in many applications such as medical treatment,electromagnetic compatibility, and stealth technique.

Observation of wavelength-switchable solitons in an all-polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber cavity based on graphene saturable absorber reflector

We present the generation of wavelength-switchable single-polarization solitons in an all-polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber laser mode-locked by a graphene saturable absorber. Ultrashort pulses centered at the wavelength of 1531.6 nm with the duration of 816 fs and centered at the wavelength of 1557.8 nm with the duration of 402 fs are separately obtained from the same fiber laser cavity. The cavity loss adjusted by the gold reflector plays a crucial role in wavelength switching.

A 1.7-ps pulse mode-locked Yb^(3+):Sc_2SiO_5 laser with a reflective graphene oxide saturable absorber

By using a reflective graphene oxide as saturable absorber, a diode-pumped passively mode-locked Yb^3＋：Sc2Si O5（Yb：SSO） laser has been demonstrated for the first time. Without extra negative dispersion compensation, the minimum pulse duration of 1.7 ps with a repetition rate of 94 MHz was obtained at the central wavelength of 1062.6 nm. The average output power amounts to 355 m W under the absorbed pump power of 15 W. The maximum peak power of the mode-locking laser is up to 2.2 k W, and the single pulse energy is 3.8nJ.

Mode-Locked Thulium Ytterbium Co-Doped Fiber Laser with Graphene Oxide Paper Saturable Absorber

A mode-locked thulium ytterbium co-doped fiber laser （TYDFL） is proposed and demonstrated by using a commercial graphene oxide （GO） paper as saturable absorber （SA）. The GO paper is sandwiched between two fiber ferrules and incorporates a ring laser cavity to generate soliton pulse train operating at 1942.0nm at a threshold multimode pump power as low as 1.8 W. The mode-locked TYDFL has a repetition rate of 22.32 MHz and the calculated pulse width of 1.1 ns. Even though the SA has a low damage threshold, the easy fabrication of GO paper should promote its potentiM application in ultrafast photonics.

A compact graphene Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser using optical circulator and tunable fiber Bragg grating

We demonstrate a passively Q-switched tunable erbium-doped fiber laser （EDFL） based on graphene as a saturable absorber （SA）. A three-port optical circulator （OC） and a strain-induced tunable fiber Bragg grating （TFBG） are used as the two end mirrors in an all-fiber linear cavity. The Q-switched EDFL has a low pump threshold of 23.8 mW. The pulse repetition rate of the fiber laser can be widely changed from 9.3 kHz to 69.7 kHz by increasing the pump power from 23.8 mW to 219.9 mW. The minimum pulse duration is 1.7 p.s and the highest pulse energy is 25.4 nJ. The emission wavelength of the laser can be tuned from 1560.43 nm to 1566.27 nm by changing the central wavelength of the straininduced TFBG.

Q-switched pulse generation from an all-f iber distributed Bragg reflector laser using graphene as saturable absorber

A Q-switched distributed Bragg reflector fiber laser using a graphene passive saturable absorber is proposed in a cavity consisting of a fiber Bragg grating and Faraday rotator mirror as end mirrors, together with a highly doped erbium-doped fiber as a gain source. The laser has a Q-switched threshold of about 28 mW and a tunable repetition rate of 10.4-18.0 kHz with varying pump power. The shortest pulse width obtained from the system is 3.7 its, with a maximum pulse energy and peak power of 22.2 nJ and 3.4 mW, respectively.

Q-switched Er-doped fiber laser with low pumping threshold using graphene saturable absorber

We propose a Q-switched Er-doped fiber laser （EDFL） with a threshold pumping power as low as 7.4 mW, and demonstrate using graphene polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） thin film as a passive saturable absorber （SA）. The SA is fabricated from graphene flakes, which is synthesized by electrochemical exfoliation of graphite at room temperature in 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate aqueous solution. The flakes are mixed with PVA solution to produce a thin film, which is then sandwiched between two ferrules to form a SA and integrated in the EDFL ring cavity to generate a stable Q-switched pulse train. The pulse train operates at 1560 nm with a threshold pump power of 7.4 roW. At maximum 1480 nm pump power of 33.0 roW, the EDFL generates an optical pulse train with a repetition rate of 27.0 kHz and pulse width of 3.56/as. The maximum pulse energy of 39.4 nJ is obtained at a pump power of 14.9 roW. This laser can be used as a simple and low-cost light source for metrology, environmental sensing, and biomedical diagnostics.

Dual-wavelength single-longitudinal-mode fiber laser with switchable wavelength spacing based on a graphene saturable absorber

We propose and demonstrate a dual-wavelength single-longitudinal-mode(SLM) fiber laser with switchable wavelength spacing based on a graphene saturable absorber(GSA) and a Wave Shaper. By virtue of the excellent saturable absorption ability of graphene, the linewidths of the lasing wavelengths can be effectively reduced and eventually SLM operation can be obtained. The linewidths of both wavelengths are measured to be narrower than 7.3 kHz. The obtained results suggest that the graphene would be a good candidate nonlinear optical material for applications in related photonic fields, such as SLM oscillation generation for microwave generation and optical sensing.

Graphene oxide paper as a saturable absorber for Er-and Tm-doped fiber lasers

In this work pulse generation in both the 1.5 and 2 μm spectral ranges using a graphene oxide(GO)-paper-based saturable absorber in Er-and Tm-doped fiber lasers is presented. The article describes the fabrication method of GO paper and its characterization. The performance of both lasers is discussed in detail. Stable, mode-locked operation provides 613 fs and 1.36 ps soliton pulses centered at 1565.9 and 1961.6 nm in Er-and Tm-doped fiber lasers, respectively. Furthermore, scaling of spectral width, and hence the pulse duration, by increasing the number of GO paper layers in the Er-doped laser is described. The versatility and simplicity of GO paper fabrication combined with the possibility of scaling the optical spectrum full width at half-maximum are essential features that make it a good candidate for ultrafast low-power mode-locked lasers operating in different spectral regions.

Tunable and multichannel terahertz perfect absorber due to Tamm surface plasmons with graphene

In this paper, we have shown that perfect absorption at terahertz frequencies can be achieved by using a composite structure where graphene is coated on one-dimensional photonic crystal(1 DPC) separated by a dielectric. Due to the excitation of optical Tamm states(OTSs) at the interface between the graphene and 1 DPC, a strong absorption phenomenon occurs induced by the coupling of the incident light and OTSs. Although the perfect absorption produced by a metal–distributed Bragg reflector structure has been researched extensively, it is generally at a fixed frequency and not tunable. Here, we show that the perfect absorption at terahertz frequency not only can be tuned to different frequencies but also exhibits a high absorption over a wide angle range. In addition,the absorption of the proposed structure is insensitive to the polarization, and multichannel absorption can berealized by controlling the thickness of the top layer.

Graphene oxide-COOH as a new saturable absorber for both Q-switching and mode-locking fiber lasers

Graphene oxide carboxylic acid（COOH）, a novel two-dimensional（2D） layered material with its unique optical and electronic properties, is discovered to exhibit the saturation of optical absorption under laser illumination.Applying the liquid-phase exfoliation method, we prepare graphene oxide-COOH dispersions with deionized water and fabricate graphene oxide-COOH polyvinyl alcohol polymer composite film. We further obtain stable Q-switching pulse and mode-locked laser operation with a 22.7 MHz repetition rate and a 1.5 ps pulse duration by incorporating the graphene oxide-COOH-based saturable absorbers into the all-fiber erbium-doped fiber laser cavity. The experimental results show that the proposed graphene oxide-COOH material can act as an effective absorber for pulsed fiber lasers, which demonstrate potential applications in the area of ultrafast optics.