Abstract
The ultrashort pulsed laser has widespread applications in fields such as biomedical research, micro machining, ultrafast optical communications, and so on. Among the various ultrashort pulsed lasers that have been developed, ultrafast pulsed laser with single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) saturable absorbers (SA) have recently received considerable attention. However, the effect accompanies heatup of SA materials because the absorbed light energy is converted into thermal energy; thus, SA devices could suffer from damage due to heatup. Therefore we have proposed the concept of attaching a nanostructured heat sink to the SWCNT saturable absorber. In this experiment, SWCNTs were embedded into nanopores of a porous alumina matrix (PAM) that could provide excellent thermal conductivity and optical transparency. Furthermore, we demonstrated the mode-locked operation of an Er fiber laser with the developed saturable absorber.
