HIGH-POWER ERBIUM-DOPED FIBER LASER MODE-LOCKED BY A SEMICONDUCTOR SATURABLE ABSORBER

Using an erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) passively mode lacked by a semiconductor saturable absorber, we generate 5.5-ps pulses of a 2.3-nJ/pulse, which are more than three times higher in energy than for other reported EDFL's. We show that, by introduction of a Linear loss element within the cavity, multiple pulsing behavior at high pump powers can be suppressed. We also determine the saturable-absorber characteristics-absorbance versus wavelength near band gap-that are necessary to produce short mode-locked pulses.