Robust nanosecond laser passively Q-switched by tin selenide nanoflowers

We report the generation of the robust nanosecond Nd:YVO4 solid-state laser and Er3+:ZBLAN fiber laser passively Q-switched by the tin selenide (SnSe) nanoflowers saturable absorbers. The SnSe nanoflowers prepared via chemical precipitation method exhibit broadband nonlinear optical absorption performance, and can modulate the separate lasers to deliver stable nanosecond pulse ∼1 µm and ∼2.8 µm successfully. The experimental results show that the low-dimensional transition-metal monochalcogenides hold great potential for the broadband robust saturable absorbers, and may pave an avenue toward developing high-performance broadband optoelectronic devices.