Investigation of tungsten trioxide as a saturable absorber for mode-locked generation

Low-dimensional materials as saturable absorbers (SA) for pulsed laser applications have gain wide interest due to high nonlinearity and strong light-matter interaction. Various materials have been investigated such as graphene, transition metal oxides (TMO), transition metal dichalcogenides, and topological insulators. Tungsten trioxide (WO3); a cheap and nontoxic type of TMO has not yet been investigated for mode-locked pulsed fiber laser (MLFL) generation despite extensive employment as applications in other fields. WO3 is very attractive with spectral absorption extending in the broad near infra-red region, good mechanical strength, high resistance to photo corrosion, and is one of the few oxides that has high thermal and chemical stability. A tungsten trioxide (WO3) based saturable absorber (SA) fabricated via deposition of WO3 composite on tapered fiber was demonstrated. The WO3 weight percentage was varied from 0.005 to 1.235 wt% to investigate the effect on nonlinear saturable parameters and on mode-locked lasing performance. It was determined that the nonlinear saturable parameters were not dependent on weight percentage within its working range; 0.025 to 1.103 wt%. The generation self-started with 35-70 mW pump power, where the pulse durations and spectral bandwidths fall within the range of 810-940 fs and 8-12 nm, respectively. This experimental investigation provides insight on WO3 as a saturable absorber for mode-locked pulse laser generation. The utilization of this nanomaterial is aimed to cut down the cost the existing SA technology while providing enhanced durability and shelf-life.