We demonstrate a passively Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) using a copper nanoparticle (CuNP) thin film as the saturable absorber in a ring cavity. A stable Q-switched pulse operation is observed as the CuNP saturable absorber (SA) is introduced in the cavity. The pulse repetition rate of the EDFL is observed to be proportional to the pump power, and is limited to 101.2 kHz by the maximum pump power of 113.7 mW. On the other hand, the pulse width reduces from 10.19 µs to 4.28 µs as the pump power is varied from 26.1 mW to 113.7 mW. The findings suggest that CuNP SA could be useful as a potential saturable absorber for the development of the robust, compact, efficient and low cost Q-switched fiber laser operating at 1.5-µm region.

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We demonstrate passive Q-switching in an erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) cavity using gold nanoparticles as a saturable absorber (SA) for the first time. By using a thermal deposition method, gold with nanosized particles was plated onto polyvinyl alcohol film to form the SA. The SA was incorporated into a laser cavity, sandwiched between two fiber ferrules. The EDFL generates a Q-switching pulse in the 1560 nm region with a tunable repetition rate from 24.34 kHz to 88.11 kHz. The pulse tuned to a maximum input pump power of 179.5 mW produced a pulse width and pulse energy of 4.25 µs and 32.91 nJ, respectively.

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