SESAMs (Semiconductor Saturable Absorber Mirrors) are crucial in ultrafast laser systems and have been extensively used in the near-infrared region. Extending them to the short-wave infrared (SWIR) regime is essential for many sensing and spectroscopic applications. This investigation examines how wavelength, strain, and barrier material affect SWIR SESAM performance. At 2 μm, SESAMs with InGaSb quantum wells and GaSb barriers demonstrate fast recovery times (⪅30 ps) due to defect states in confined quantum wells. However, using AlAsSb barriers improves rollover parameters but slows down recovery (> 500 ps). Strain-compensated InGaAsSb quantum well SESAMs consistently show slow recovery times, which can be partially explained by delocalized hole states. In contrast strain-compensated SESAMs with AlAsSb barriers have localized hole states with good quantum well confinement, yet still exhibit slow recovery, suggesting an unidentified mechanism related to the AlAsSb barrier. We will give an overview for controlling SESAM characteristics with different quantum well designs and MBE growth parameters over a wavelength range of 2 to 2.4 μm.
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