Fabrication and characterization of ultrafast carbon nanotube saturable absorbers for solid-state laser mode locking near 1μm

Transmitting and reflecting ultrafast saturable absorbers based on single-walled carbon nanotubes are developed that are applicable for stable mode locking of bulk solid-state lasers operating near 1μm. For fabrication of these saturable absorbers, relatively simple spin coating and spray methods are employed. Parameters important for stable mode locking, such as transient nonlinear absorption, saturation fluence, and recovery time, are investigated by nonlinear transmission and time-resolved pump-probe measurements near 1μm. Typical modulation depths and recovery times amount to ∼0.21%–0.25% and