High power passively mode-locked fiber laser based on graphene nanocoated optical taper

We experimentally demonstrate a passively mode-locked Er:Yb doped double-clad fiber laser using a graphene nanocoated optical taper. Averaging 20 μm of clad diameter with a length of 6 mm, such a saturable absorber enables a strong light–graphene interaction owing to the evanescent field of the excited cladding mode. With the highest pump power of 5 W, the 326th harmonic mode locking of soliton bunches with an average output power of 520 mW was obtained in a fiber ring cavity that has a fundamental frequency of 1.67 MHz. This is the highest average output power yet reported in graphene-based passively mode-locked fiber lasers.