Pulse width shaping of passively mode-locked soliton fiber laser via polarization control in carbon nanotube saturable absorber.

We report the continuous control of the pulse width of a passively mode-locked fiber laser via polarization state adjustment in a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber (SWCNT-SA). The SWCNT, coated on the side-polished fiber, was fabricated with optimized conditions and used for stable mode-locking of the fiber laser without Q-switching instabilities for any polarization state of the laser intra-cavity. The 3-dB spectral bandwidth of the mode-locked pulses can be continuously tuned from 1.8 nm to 8.5 nm with the polarization control for a given laser cavity length and applied pump power. A pulse duration varying from 470 fs to 1.6 ps was also observed with a change in the spectral bandwidth. The linear and the nonlinear transmission properties of the SA were analyzed, and found to exhibit different modulation depths depending on the input polarization state in the SA. The largest modulation depth of the SA was observed at the polarization state of the transverse electric mode that delivers shortest pulses at the laser output.