Few-Layer Mxene Ti3C2Tx (T=F, O, Or OH) for Robust Pulse Generation in a Compact Er-Doped Fiber Laser

MXenes, recently developed two-dimensional (2D) materials, comprise 2D transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides and have variable properties. In particular, accordion-like structures of MXene have highly tunable and tailorable optoelectronic properties, which indicates that they can be applied in broadband optical devices. However, due to the complex synthesis process, the saturable absorber (SA) properties of MXene have not been fully explored and widely applied until now. In this article, the characterization of few-layer MXene nanosheets has been systematically performed. Furthermore, the MXene dispersion is utilized as a SA without any polymer and applied in a compact integrated Er-doped fiber laser at 1.5 mu m to generate a robust, high average power pulse. The proposed robust pulsed laser has minimum pulse width of 1.37 mu s under average output power of 40 mW and the corresponding pulse energy is 305 nJ, which is higher than previous experimental results. Considering the merits of MXene Ti3C2Tx, in the generation of large energy pulses, our work could be a novel method to optimize photonic devices.