A passively mode-locked Er3+-doped ZBLAN fiber laser around 3 μm with a wide wavelength tuning range is proposed and demonstrated. The laser cavity was comprised of a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror and a blazed grating to provide a wavelength tunable feedback. The central wavelength of the mode-locked fiber laser can be continuously tuned from 2710 to 2820 nm. The pulse train had a maximum average power of higher than 203 mW, a repetition rate of 28.9 MHz and a pulse duration of 6.4 ps, yielding a peak power of exceeding 1.1 kW. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a wavelength-tunable passively mode-locked mid-infrared fiber laser at 3 μm.

Super-flat supercontinua are generated from a double clad Tm-doped fiber amplifier. Two different laser configurations are investigated and compared. In the direct-output configuration, the long-wavelength edge of the supercontinuum spectra is extended to beyond 2.65 μm with a 10 dB bandwidth of 740 nm. In the passive pigtail configuration, the generated supercontinuum features excellent flatness with an intensity difference smaller than 1 dB in the wide central spectral range from 1.98 μm to 2.41 μm.