Nanosecond-pulse fiber laser mode-locked with iron phthalocyanine

Abstract In this paper, we demonstrated a passively mode-locked erbium doped fiber laser (EDFL) using iron phthalocyanine (FePc) material as a saturable absorber (SA). The FePc-SA was prepared via a casting method, integrating FePc powder with polyvinyl alcohol to form FePc-PVA film. When implemented into the mode-locked EDFL cavity, the laser generated 356 ns pulses at a repetition rate of 969 kHz. Operating at a wavelength of 1559 nm, the laser achieved pulse energy of 6.04 nJ, output power of 5.85 mW, and peak power of 0.014 W under a maximum pump power of 128.92 mW. The laser exhibited remarkable stability, evidenced by a signal-to-noise ratio of 71.7 dB at the fundamental frequency. These results demonstrate that FePc material effectively serves as a mode-locker for generating nanosecond pulses.