Mode locking in a bismuth fibre laser by using a SESAM

By using a semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror (SESAM) optimised for operation in the spectral range from 1100 to 1200 nm, passive mode locking is obtained in a cw bismuth-doped fibre laser. Pumping was performed by a cw ytterbium-doped fibre laser at a wavelength of 1075 nm. The operation of the laser is studied by using either a fibre Bragg grating or a loop fibre Sagnac mirror as the output resonator mirror. Stable laser pulses of duration from 50 ps to 3.5 ns, depending on the output mirror type, were generated. The pulse repetition rate was 11 MHz at a wavelength of ≈1160 nm and the maximum spectral width of 2.1 nm. The maximum average output power was 7.8 mW upon pumping by 1140 mW.