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Saturable absorption in single-walled carbon nanotubes at 1550 nm Ma, Robert Tak Fai
Abstract
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) provide an alternative to multi-quantum well (MQW) based saturable absorbers at optical communication wavelengths. This work is aimed at measuring the nonlinear absorption coefficient of SWNTs at 1550 nm and to compare the performance of SWNT based saturable absorbers with MQW based saturable absorbers. In this work, saturable absorption and optical bleaching in a SWNT sample at 1550 nm were observed by the Power-scan and the two-color pump-probe measurement methods. A measurement system capable of performing Z-scan, P-scan, and pump-probe measurements was developed. The filtration method was used to fabricate a thin film of SWNTs grown by the HiPco process onto a sapphire substrate. The experimental results obtained from the P-scan measurements were analyzed to estimate the nonlinear absorption coefficient of the SWNT sample. The estimated values are large compared to those of other nonlinear optical materials. Optical bleaching was observed in the pump-probe measurement. A figure of merit to compare the performance of saturable absorbers based on their modulation depth, saturation intensity, and recovery time is proposed. Using it, the figures of merit of the SWNT sample used in this work, those of several SWNT based saturable absorbers reported in the literature, and those of several MQW based saturable absorbers, also reported in the literature, were calculated. The calculations showed that the performance of SWNT based saturable absorbers is comparable to MQW based saturable absorbers. The optical properties of SWNTs, combined with the low cost of fabrication, demonstrate the potential of SWNT based devices to find a large number of optical applications.
Item Metadata
Title |
Saturable absorption in single-walled carbon nanotubes at 1550 nm
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
2006
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Description |
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) provide an alternative to multi-quantum well
(MQW) based saturable absorbers at optical communication wavelengths. This work is
aimed at measuring the nonlinear absorption coefficient of SWNTs at 1550 nm and to
compare the performance of SWNT based saturable absorbers with MQW based
saturable absorbers.
In this work, saturable absorption and optical bleaching in a SWNT sample at
1550 nm were observed by the Power-scan and the two-color pump-probe measurement
methods. A measurement system capable of performing Z-scan, P-scan, and pump-probe
measurements was developed. The filtration method was used to fabricate a thin film of
SWNTs grown by the HiPco process onto a sapphire substrate. The experimental results
obtained from the P-scan measurements were analyzed to estimate the nonlinear
absorption coefficient of the SWNT sample. The estimated values are large compared to
those of other nonlinear optical materials. Optical bleaching was observed in the
pump-probe measurement. A figure of merit to compare the performance of saturable
absorbers based on their modulation depth, saturation intensity, and recovery time is
proposed. Using it, the figures of merit of the SWNT sample used in this work, those of
several SWNT based saturable absorbers reported in the literature, and those of several
MQW based saturable absorbers, also reported in the literature, were calculated. The
calculations showed that the performance of SWNT based saturable absorbers is
comparable to MQW based saturable absorbers. The optical properties of SWNTs,
combined with the low cost of fabrication, demonstrate the potential of SWNT based
devices to find a large number of optical applications.
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Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2010-01-07
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0064783
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
2006-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.