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High-quality Fe-doped ZnS films have been fabricated by electron beam evaporation. After the doping, the fabricated films still maintain the preferential crystalline orientation and phase purity of the host ZnS. According to the observation of surface morphology, the root mean-square roughness of the samples increases slightly with the increase of doping content. All of the prepared samples are in cubic zinc blende structure of ZnS. Transmission spectrum confirms a more obvious dip near 3 μm with higher dopant concentration and it can be attributed to the typical 5E→5T2 transition of Fe2+. Fe-doped ZnS film is also successfully used for Q-switched Er:ZBLAN fiber laser.

Fe2+:ZnSe thin films are prepared on sapphire substrate at room temperature by electron beam evaporation and then annealed in vacuum (about 1 × 10–4 Pa) at different temperatures. The influences of thermal annealing on the structural and optical properties of these films such as grain size and optical transmittance are investigated. The x-ray diffraction patterns show that the Fe2+:ZnSe thin film is preferred to be oriented along the (111) plane at different annealing temperatures. After the film is annealed, the full-width-at-half-maximum ( FWHM ) of the x-ray diffraction peak profile (111) of the film decreases and its crystal quality is improved. Scanning electron microscope images show that the films are more dense after being annealed. Finally, the sample is used as a saturable absorber in ZBLAN fiber laser. The annealed Fe2+:ZnSe thin films can be used to realize stable Q-switching modulation on ZBLAN fiber laser. The results demonstrate that the Fe2+:ZnSe thin film is a promising material for generating the high-power pulses of mid-infrared Q-switched fiber lasers.