Lithuanian Journal of Physics article / Lietuvos fizikos žurnalo straipsnis

SLOW AND FAST OPTICAL DEGRADATION OF THE SESAM FOR FIBER LASER MODE-LOCKING AT 1 µm
K. Viskontas^a,b, K. Regelskis^a,b, and N. Rusteika^a,b
^aCenter for Physical Sciences and Technology, Savanorių 231, LT- 02300, Vilnius, Lithuania
^bEkspla Ltd, Savanorių 231, LT- 02300, Vilnius, Lithuania
E-mail: karolis.viskontas@ar.fi.lt

Received 17 April 2014; accepted 29 May 2014

In this paper, we introduce a detailed study of degradation of the In_xGa_1-_xAs quantum well (QW) based semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) irradiated with picosecond pulses from a fiber laser at a 1064 nm wavelength. In a slow degradation study at a lower incident fluence, the longest operating times of ~4000 h were recorded for two SESAMs with a slow carrier relaxation (τ = 15 ps) in comparison to 1000 h of the fast (τ = 1 ps) SESAM. The nonlinear reflectivity measurements after the long-term tests indicated that the most likely mechanism of SESAM degradation was the modification of the InGaAs QW structure. By reducing a thermal load on the SESAM, an expected lifetime was increased ten-fold. At higher saturation levels, SESAMs experienced critical optical damage (COD) after less than 24 h of operation. The most likely mechanism of COD was deduced to be the two-photon absorption in GaAs material. The necessity of slow degradation tests close to the operating conditions of the SESAM was demonstrated.

Keywords: saturable absorber, SESAM, mode-locked fiber laser, optical degradation, Yb-doped fiber, ultra-short pulse
PACS: 42.81.Wg, 42.65.Re, 42.70.Ng

SKAIDULINIŲ LAZERIŲ MODŲ SINCHRONIZACIJAI SKIRTŲ SESAM DARINIŲ LĖTA IR SPARTI DEGRADACIJA ESANT 1 µm BANGOS ILGIUI

K. Viskontas^a,b, K. Regelskis^a,b, N. Rusteika^a,b
^aFizinių ir technologijos mokslų centras, Vilnius, Lietuva
^bUAB „Ekspla“, Vilnius, Lietuva

Darbe pristatytas In_xGa_1-_xAs kvantinių duobių pagrindu pagamintų puslaidininkinių įsisotinančios sugerties veidrodžių (SESAM), apšviestų pikosekundiniais skaidulinio 1064 nm osciliatoriaus impulsais, degradacijos tyrimas. Ilgalaikių degradacijų tyrime, kuris atliktas su mažesniais impulsų energijos tankiais, du ilgiausiai veikę lėtos relaksacijos (τ = 15 ps) SESAM pasiekė ~4000 h, o greitos relaksacijos (τ = 1 ps) SESAM tik 1000 h. Netiesinio atspindžio matavimai rodo, kad InGaAs kvantinių duobių optinė modifikacija yra pagrindinė SESAM degradacijos priežastis. Be to, sumažinus terminį poveikį, SESAM tikėtina gyvavimo trukmė padidėjo dešimt kartų. Prie didesnių energijos tankių stebimas staigus SESAM pažeidimas, po įjungimo praėjus mažiau nei 24 valandoms. Toks pažeidimas siejamas su dvifotone sugertimi GaAs sluoksnyje. Dėl skirtingų SESAM degradacijos mechanizmų pademonstruota būtinybė atlikti ilgalaikius testus realaus skaidulinio lazerio veikimo sąlygomis.

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