A self-made saturable absorber (SA) based on hybridized graphene oxide (GO) and
F
e
3
O
4
nanoparticles (FONP) was inserted into a linear cavity to generate a passively
Q
-switched solid-state
N
d
:
Y
V
O
4
laser operating at the 1.3 µm waveband. The laser had a minimum pulse width of 163 ns and a maximum repetition rate of 314 kHz. This experiment, to the best of our knowledge, is the first to demonstrate that hybridized GO and FONP (GO-FONP) can be used as an SA in passively
Q
-switched pulse lasers. Results show that GO-FONP has the potential to be used for passively
Q
-switched laser generation.
We report on the experimental observation of the diffraction pattern formed in the far-field region when a high-power continuous-wave laser convergent or divergent Gaussian beam passes through a cuvette with ferrofluid. Two different types of diffraction rings with opposite light-intensity distribution are shown in the far field. The difference between the diffractive patterns is attributed to the interaction of the strong spatial self-phase modulation caused by the refractive index change of the medium with wavefront curvature of the input Gaussian beam. The observed behavior of the diffraction pattern dynamics is interpreted theoretically based on the Fresnel–Kirchhoff integral. The negative polarity of nonlinear refraction can be identified by the central interference profiles and the diffraction pattern. At the same time, the self-defocusing phenomena of the ferrofluid can be determined by the type of pattern. The nonlinear refraction coefficients of the ferrofluid were estimated to be
∼
−
2.89
×
10
−
5
c
m
2
/
W
(convergent Gaussian beam) and
∼
−
3.53
×
10
−
5
c
m
2
/
W
(divergent Gaussian beam). In addition, the corresponding third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of the sample was also estimated as
∼
1.43
×
10
−
5
e
s
u
and
∼
1.75
×
10
−
5
e
s
u
, respectively. The experimental results imply a novel potential application of ferrofluid in nonlinear phase modulation devices.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.