Ultrafast fiber pulsed lasers incorporating carbon nanotubes

We present the first passively mode-locked fiber lasers based on a novel saturable absorber incorporating carbon nanotubes (SAINT). This device offers several key advantages such as: ultrafast recovery time (<1 ps), high-optical damage threshold, mechanical and environmental robustness, chemical stability, and the ability to operate in transmission, reflection, and bidirectional modes. Moreover, the fabrication cost and complexity of SAINT devices are potentially lower than that of conventional semiconductor saturable absorber mirror devices. Therefore, it is expected that SAINT will greatly impact future pulsed laser design and development.