Passively Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser based on Zn nanoparticles as a saturable absorber

In this work, a passively Q-switched erbium-doped ring laser using zinc nanoparticles as a saturable absorber is studied and experimentally demonstrated. To achieve this, a saturable absorber was developed through a selective incorporation of zinc nanoparticles onto the core of an optical fiber using a coherent light source of an infrared laser at 1550 nm, then the saturable absorber was inserted into a laser cavity. The laser has a threshold pump power of 57.7 mW at 980 nm, and a range of pulse-repetition rate from 12.3 to 43 kHz. The highest pulse energy of 2.6 nJ was obtained at a repetition rate of 43 kHz and an output wavelength of 1565.5 nm. In addition, the saturable absorber was morphologically characterized by using both scanning electron and atomic force microscopy showing a uniform distribution of nanoparticles deposited on the optical fiber core. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of a Q-switched fiber laser using Zn nanoparticles as a device of saturable absorption.