Passively Q-switched and mode-locked erbium-doped fiber lasers based on tellurene nanosheets as saturable absorber

Abstract

Various two-dimensional (2D) materials show unique optical properties and excellent performance in acting as saturable absorber (SA) for demonstrating all-fiber ultra-fast lasers. Tellurene, as a new-fashioned few-layer 2D monoelemental material, was designed as an excellent saturable absorber to achieve Q-switched and mode-locked operations within erbium-doped fiber (EDF) lasers in our experiment. High-quality tellurene-based SA with a modulation depth of 0.97% was obtained by blending few-layer tellurene nanosheet solution prepared by liquid phase exfoliation method and the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution. Inserting the SA into the EDF laser cavity by sandwiching the tellurene-PVA film between two fiber ferrules, either the passively Q-switched or the passively mode-locked operations can be obtained. The repetition rate varies from 15.92 to 47.61 kHz, and the pulse duration decreases from 8.915 to 5.196 µs in the passively Q-switched operation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration focusing on the modulation application of tellurene in designing Q-switched pulsed laser operations. Additionally, mode-locked operations were also achieved by adjusting the polarization state. The obtained results fully indicate that tellurene can be developed as an efficient SA for pulsed fiber lasers.

Anisotropic Properties of Tellurium Nanoflakes Probed by Polarized Raman and Transient Absorption Microscopy: Implications for Polarization-Sensitive Applications

“…Because of its unique properties, like high carrier mobility, prominent air stability, wide broadband absorption, and excellent thermoelectric transport properties, , 2D Te has great potential in various devices and applications . Nowadays, many researches have shown integration of 2D Te in versatile devices and applications with high performance, including photodetectors, ,,− field-effect transistors, ,− lasers, gas sensors, − chemical sensors, , and biosensors . Strong nonlinear optical responses of Te illustrate its potential applications for nonlinear photonics and optoelectronic devices .…”

2D Xenes: Optical and Optoelectronic Properties and Applications in Photonic Devices

“…More works on tellurene-based ultrafast lasers were carried out in recent years. [154,352,353] Some other 2D Xenes such as silicone, borophene, and germanene have also been utilized as SA for ultrafast pulse generation. [47,354,355] Table 2 briefly summarizes the characteristics of some ultrafast lasers based on different 2D Xenes.…”

Optoelectronic characteristics and application of black phosphorus and its analogs

“…Obviously, the choice of solvent plays a key role in the preparation of materials using this technique. Currently, the commonly used solvents are ethanol [31], NMP (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone) [72,[79][80][81], DMF (dimethyl formamide), IPA (isopropanol) [78], PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) [82][83][84], acetone, and surfactant sodium cholate. For example, Chu et al [79] studied a LPE strategy using NMP to fabricate BP with water stability and controllable layer and dimension.…”