CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite thin films as a saturable absorber for a passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

In this study, we experimentally demonstrated the fabrication of a passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser using a hybrid organic–inorganic methylammonium lead halide (CH3NH3PbI3) perovskite as a saturable absorber (SA). The broadband linear transmittance in the 0.3–1.1 μm range and the nonlinear optical absorption at 1064 nm were measured. The CH3NH3PbI3 SA exhibited large nonlinear saturable absorption with a modulation depth and saturation intensity equal to 3.9% and 6.5 MW cm−2, respectively. Using the CH3NH3PbI3 SA, a stable Q-switched laser operation with a maximum average output power of 388 mW corresponding to a pulse width of 192 ns was achieved. Thus, the CH3NH3PbI3 film is an efficient SA candidate for stable lasers and has great potential as a broadband nonlinear optical material for ultrafast photonics.