Semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs) are widely used for modelocking of various ultrafast lasers. The growing interest for SESAM-modelocked lasers in the short-wave infrared and mid-infrared regime requires precise characterization of SESAM parameters. Here, we present two SESAM characterization setups for a wavelength range of 1.9 to 3 µm to precisely measure both nonlinear reflectivity and time-resolved recovery dynamics. For the nonlinear reflectivity measurement, a high accuracy (<0.04%) over a wide fluence range (0.1–1500 µJ/cm2) is achieved. Time-resolved pump-probe measurements have a resolution of about 100 fs and a scan range of up to 680 ps. Using the two setups, we have fully characterized three different GaSb-SESAMs at an operation wavelength of 2.05 µm fabricated in the FIRST lab at ETH Zurich. The results show excellent performance suitable for modelocking diode-pumped solid-state and semiconductor disk lasers. We have measured saturation fluences of around 4 µJ/cm2, modulation depths varying from 1% to 2.4%, low non-saturable losses (∼ 0.2%) and sufficiently fast recovery times (< 32 ps). The predicted influence of Auger recombination in the GaSb material system is also investigated.

We present the detailed growth and characterization of novel GaSb-based semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs) operating in the 2–2.4 µm spectral range. These SESAMs at different wavelengths are bandgap engineered using ternary material compositions and without strain compensation. We observe that even when the thickness of quantum wells (QWs) exceeds the critical thickness we obtain strain relaxed SESAMs that do not substantially increase nonsaturable losses. SESAMs have been fabricated using molecular beam epitaxy with a AlAs0.08Sb0.92/GaSb distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) and strained type-I InxGa1-xSb or type-II W-like AlSb/InAs/GaSb QWs in the absorber region. All the type-I SESAMs show excellent performance, which is suitable for modelocking of diode-pumped semiconductor, ion-doped solid-state, and thin-disk lasers. The recovery time of the type-II SESAM is too long which can be interesting for laser applications. The dependence of the SESAM design, based on its QW number, barrier material, and operation wavelength are investigated. A detailed characterization is conducted to draw conclusions from macroscopic nonlinear and transient absorption properties at different wavelengths in the 2–2.4 µm range for the corresponding devices.

Femtosecond lasers with high peak power at wavelengths above 2 µm are of high interest for generating mid-infrared (mid-IR) broadband coherent light for spectroscopic applications. Cr2+-doped ZnS/ZnSe solid-state lasers are uniquely suited since they provide an ultra-broad bandwidth in combination with watt-level average power. To date, the semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) mode-locked Cr:ZnS(e) lasers have been severely limited in power due to the lack of suitable 2.4-µm SESAMs. For the first time, we develop novel high-performance 2.4-µm type-I and type-II SESAMs, and thereby obtain state-of-the-art mode-locking performance. The type-I InGaSb/GaSb SESAM demonstrates a low non-saturable loss (0.8%) and an ultrafast recovery time (1.9 ps). By incorporating this SESAM in a 250-MHz Cr:ZnS laser cavity, we demonstrate fundamental mode-locking at 2.37 µm with 0.8 W average power and 79-fs pulse duration. This corresponds to a peak power of 39 kW, which is the highest so far for any saturable absorber mode-locked Cr:ZnS(e) oscillator. In the same laser cavity, we could also generate 120-fs pulses at a record high average power of 1 W. A comparable laser performance is achieved using type-II InAs/GaSb SESAM as well. These results pave the way towards a new class of high-power femtosecond SESAM mode-locked oscillators operating directly above 2-µm wavelength.

Femtosecond lasers with high repetition rates are attractive for spectroscopic applications with high sampling rates, high power per comb line, and resolvable lines. However, at long wavelengths beyond 2 µm, current laser sources are either limited to low output power or repetition rates below 1 GHz. Here we present an ultrafast laser oscillator operating with high output power at multi-GHz repetition rate. The laser produces transform-limited 155-fs pulses at a repetition rate of 2 GHz, and an average power of 0.8 W, reaching up to 0.7 mW per comb line at the center wavelength of 2.38 µm. We have achieved this milestone via a Cr2+-doped ZnS solid-state laser modelocked with an InGaSb/GaSb SESAM. The laser is stable over several hours of operation. The integrated relative intensity noise is 0.15% rms for [10 Hz, 100 MHz], and the laser becomes shot noise limited (-160 dBc/Hz) at frequencies above 10 MHz. Our timing jitter measurements reveal contributions from pump laser noise and relaxation oscillations, with a timing jitter of 100 fs integrated over [3 kHz, 100 MHz]. These results open up a path towards fast and sensitive spectroscopy directly above 2 µm.