A passively Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) using copper telluride-polyvinyl alcohol (Cu2Te-PVA) thin film as saturable absorber (SA) was proposed and demonstrated. The generated Q-switched pulses could be tuned over a tuning range of 44 nm from 1530 nm to 1574 nm, with the addition of a tunable bandpass filter (TBPF) into the C-band laser cavity. The pump power of 130.1 mW to 221.0 mW was used to observe the output pulses, which had repetition rates from 51.3 kHz to 61.7 kHz, with a minimum pulse width of around 1.84 µs and highest pulse energy of 7 nJ. The generated pulses were stable with a constant signal to noise ratio (SNR) value of around 51 dB when tested under continuous operation over a period of 60 minutes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of Q-switched pulses induced by a Cu2Te-PVA based SA in an EDFL.

A configurable, triple wavelength fiber laser based on broadband mirrors (BBMs) and an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) is demonstrated. The laser uses a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) as the primary gain medium due to its inhomogeneous broadening property that allows for the generation high intensity lasing wavelengths. The combination of the AWG and BBMs allows for triple lasing wavelength outputs with channel spacing from 0.8 to 4.0 nm to be obtained. The generated output is adjustable between 1540.6 and 1548.6 nm. The proposed SOA‐based system is stable and can be used as a reserve laser source for wavelength division multiplexing systems.

A Q-switched S-band fiber laser based on a thulium-fluoride fiber gain medium and copper telluride (Cu2Te) based saturable absorber (SA) is demonstrated. The Cu2Te based SA is fabricated as a thin film and at the maximum pump power, the generated Q-switched output has a minimum pulse width of 3.2 µs and highest pulse energy of 56.7 nJ. The pulse train varies from 20.9 kHz to 30.2 kHz at the highest pump power. The wavelength of the generated output can be tuned over a range of 32 nm from 1470 nm to 1502 nm. The demonstrated laser has a high potential for industrial applications focusing on the S-band region.

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