Graphene mode-locked Cr:ZnS laser with 41 fs pulse duration

Abstract

We report the ultrashort-pulse Cr:ZnS laser mode-locked by graphene-based saturable absorber mirror. Using the combination of bulk material and a chirped mirror, we demonstrate the shortest reported so far mid-IR pulses of only 5.1 optical cycles (41 fs) centered at 2.4 µm with 190 nm spectral bandwidth. The pulse spectrum almost completely fills the water-free atmospheric window. The output parameters reach 2.3 nJ pulse energy and 250 mW average output power at 108 MHz repetition rate.