Dirac semimetals based tunable narrowband absorber at terahertz frequencies.

In this paper, a bulk Dirac semimetals (BDSs) based tunable narrowband absorber at terahertz frequencies is proposed and it has the attractive property of being polarization-independent at normal incidence because of its 90° rotational symmetry. Numerical results show that the absorption bandwidth is about 1.469e-2 THz and the total quality factor Q, defined as Q = f0/Δf, reaches about 94.6, which can be attributed to the low power loss of the guided mode resonance in the dielectric layer. The simulation results are analyzed with coupled mode theory. Interestingly, on the premise of maintaining the absorbance at a level greater than 0.95, the absorption frequency can be tuned from 1.381 to 1.395 THz by varying the Fermi energy of BDSs from 50 to 80 meV. Our results may also provide potential applications in optical filter and bio-chemical sensing.

Toroidal resonance based optical modulator employing hybrid graphene-dielectric metasurface.

In this paper, we demonstrate the combination of a dielectric metasurface with a graphene layer to realize a high performance toroidal resonance based optical modulator. The dielectric metasurface consists of two mirrored asymmetric silicon split-ring resonators (ASSRRs) that can support strong toroidal dipolar resonance with narrow line width (~0.77 nm) and high quality (Q)-factor (~1702) and contrast ratio (~100%). Numerical simulation results show that the transmission amplitude of the toroidal dipolar resonance can be efficiently modulated by varying the Fermi energy EF when the graphene layer is integrated with the dielectric metasurface, and a max transmission coefficient difference up to 78% is achieved indicating that the proposed hybrid graphene/dielectric metasurface shows good performance as an optical modulator. The effects of the asymmetry degree of the ASSRRs on the toroidal dipolar resonance are studied and the efficiency of the transmission amplitude modulation of graphene is also investigated. Our results may also provide potential applications in optical filter and bio-chemical sensing.

Microfiber-based few-layer black phosphorus saturable absorber for ultra-fast fiber laser.

Few-layer black phosphorus (BP), as the most alluring graphene analogue owing to its similar structure as graphene and thickness dependent direct band-gap, has now triggered a new wave of research on two-dimensional (2D) materials based photonics and optoelectronics. However, a major obstacle of practical applications for few-layer BPs comes from their instabilities of laser-induced optical damage. Herein, we demonstrate that, few-layer BPs, which was fabricated through the liquid exfoliation approach, can be developed as a new and practical saturable absorber (SA) by depositing few-layer BPs with microfiber. The saturable absorption property of few-layer BPs had been verified through an open-aperture z-scan measurement at the telecommunication band. The microfiber-based BP device had been found to show a saturable average power of ~4.5 mW and a modulation depth of 10.9%, which is further confirmed through a balanced twin detection measurement. By integrating this optical SA device into an erbium-doped fiber laser, it was found that it can deliver the mode-locked pulse with duration down to 940 fs with central wavelength tunable from 1532 nm to 1570 nm. The prevention of BP from oxidation through the "lateral interaction scheme" owing to this microfiber-based few-layer BP SA device might partially mitigate the optical damage problem of BP. Our results not only demonstrate that black phosphorus might be another promising SA material for ultrafast photonics, but also provide a practical solution to solve the optical damage problem of black phosphorus by assembling with waveguide structures such as microfiber.

Dissipative rogue waves induced by long-range chaotic multi-pulse interactions in a fiber laser with a topological insulator-deposited microfiber photonic device.

We reported on the generation of dissipative rogue waves (DRWs) induced by long-range chaotic multi-pulse interactions in a fiber laser based on a topological insulator (TI)-deposited microfiber photonic device. By virtue of the simultaneous saturable absorption effect and high nonlinearity provided by the TI-deposited microfiber, a localized, chaotic multi-pulse wave packet with strong long-range nonlinear interactions could be obtained, which gives rise to the formation of DRWs. The results might enhance the understanding of DRWs in optical systems, and further demonstrated that the TI-deposited microfiber could be considered as an excellent photonic device with both saturable absorption and highly nonlinear effects for the application field of nonlinear optics.

Microfiber-based few-layer MoS2 saturable absorber for 2.5 GHz passively harmonic mode-locked fiber laser.

We reported on the generation of high-order harmonic mode-locking in a fiber laser using a microfiber-based molybdenum disulfide (MoS(2)) saturable absorber (SA). Taking advantage of both the saturable absorption and large third-order nonlinear susceptibilities of the few-layer MoS(2), up to 2.5 GHz repetition rate HML pulse could be obtained at a pump power of 181 mW, corresponding to 369th harmonic of fundamental repetition frequency. The results provide the first demonstration of the simultaneous applications of both highly nonlinear and saturable absorption effects of the MoS(2), indicating that the microfiber-based MoS(2) photonic device could serve as high-performance SA and highly nonlinear optical component for application fields such as ultrafast nonlinear optics.

Femtosecond pulse generation from a topological insulator mode-locked fiber laser.

We reported on the generation of femtosecond pulse in a fiber ring laser by using a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based topological insulator (TI), Bi2Se3 saturable absorber (SA). The PVA-TI composite has a low saturable optical intensity of 12 MW/cm2 and a modulation depth of ~3.9%. By incorporating the fabricated PVA-TISA into a fiber laser, mode-locking operation could be achieved at a low pump threshold of 25 mW. After an optimization of the cavity parameters, optical pulse with ~660 fs centered at 1557.5 nm wavelength had been generated. The experimental results demonstrate that the PVA could be an excellent host material for fabricating high-performance TISA, and also indicate that the filmy PVA-TISA is indeed a good candidate for ultrafast saturable absorption device.

Femtosecond pulse erbium-doped fiber laser by a few-layer MoS(2) saturable absorber.

We report on the generation of a femtosecond pulse in a fiber ring laser by using a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based molybdenum disulfide (MoS(2)) saturable absorber (SA). With a saturable optical intensity of 34 MW/cm(2) and a modulation depth of ∼4.3%, the PVA-based MoS(2) SA had been employed with an erbium-doped fiber ring laser as a mode locker. The mode-locking operation could be achieved at a low pump threshold of 22 mW. A ∼710 fs pulse centered at 1569.5 nm wavelength with a repetition rate of 12.09 MHz had been achieved with proper cavity dispersion. With the variation of net cavity dispersion, output pulses with durations from 0.71 to 1.46 ps were obtained. The achievement of a femtosecond pulse at 1.55 µm waveband demonstrates the broadband saturable absorption of MoS(2), and also indicates that the filmy PVA-based MoS(2) SA is indeed a good candidate for an ultrafast saturable absorption device.

Q-switched mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser based on topological insulator Bi(2)Se(3) deposited fiber taper.

We have demonstrated the passive Q-switching mode-locking operation in an erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser by using topological insulator Bi(2)Se(3) deposited on fiber taper, whose damage threshold can be further increased by the large evanescent field interacting length. Due to the low saturation intensity, stable Q-switched mode-locked fiber lasers centered at 1562 nm can be generated at a pump power of 10 mW. The temporal and spectral characteristics for different pump strengths have also been investigated. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time a Q-switched mode-locked EDF laser based on the fiber taper deposited by Bi(2)Se(3) was generated.

2 GHz passively harmonic mode-locked fiber laser by a microfiber-based topological insulator saturable absorber.

We report on the generation of passive harmonic mode locking of a fiber laser using a microfiber-based topological insulator (TI) Bi(2)Te(3) saturable absorber (SA). The optical deposition method was employed to fabricate the microfiber-based TISA. By virtue of the excellent nonlinear optical property of the proposed TISA, the fiber laser could operate at the pulse repetition rate of 2.04 GHz under a pump power of 126 mW, corresponding to the 418th harmonic of fundamental repetition frequency. The results demonstrate that the microfiber-based TI photonic device can operate as both the high nonlinear optical component and the SA in fiber lasers, and could also find other applications in the related fields of photonics.

[Effect of temperature and applied voltage on the recombination efficiency in double layer organic light emitting diodes].

In this paper, the theoretical model of recombination was presented and the effect of temperature and applied voltage on the recombination efficiency was investigated in double layer organic light-emitting diodes: ITO/PPV/PBD/Ca. At lower applied voltage, two peaks have been observed in the curve of recombination efficiency vs. temperature. With increasing voltage, the two peaks shifted toward each other, and at voltage around 9 V the two peaks converged. These phenomena were attributed to the excited deep and shallow trap levels and the change of recombination zone. In the Frenkel exciton model, the temperature dependence of the quantum efficiency depended on the carriers mobilities and carriers densities. The carriers mobilities increased with decreasing temperature, while the carriers densities decreased with decreasing temperature. Therefore, a peak in the curve of quantum efficiency vs. temperature was expected in the model. The high-temperature peak originated due to radiative recombination of the deep trap levels, but the low-temperature peak due to shallow ones. On the other hand, as the voltage increased, the recombination zone would be changed, which had some effects on the recombination efficiency. Some experiments proved our theoretical prediction.