MAX phase Ti3AlC2 embedded in PVA and deposited onto D-shaped fiber as a passive Q-switcher for erbium-doped fiber laser

Abstract 2D-layered metal carbides/nitrides known as MXene was shown to exhibit a strong optical nonlinearity in the near-infrared regime. However, the potential of its bulk-counterparts, MAX phase as a saturable absorber was rarely investigated. Here, the development of Ti3AlC2 MAX phase-based SA was demonstrated. We prepared two SA devices which were MAX-thin film (MAX-film) and MAX-D-shaped fiber (MAX-DS), we investigated their optical properties and incorporated them in an erbium-doped fiber laser cavity to initiate a Q-switched. MAX-film and MAX-DS generate a Q-switched at the working wavelength of 1560.2 nm and 1558.2 nm, respectively. We compared their Q-switched laser parameters and revealed a significant improvement by using MAX-DS as SA. The as-prepared MAX-DS exhibit a Q-switched EDFL with a minimum pulse width of 2.93 µs, a maximum repetition rate of 96.15 kHz, a maximum output power of 14.6 mW, a maximum pulse energy of 151.8 nJ, an optical-to-optical efficiency of 11 % and a signal-to-noise ratio of 70 dB.