2D Layered Materials: Synthesis, Nonlinear Optical Properties, and Device Applications

Abstract

In recent years, 2D layered materials, including graphene, topological insulators, transition metal dichalcogenides, black phosphorus, MXenes, graphitic carbon nitride, and metal‐organic frameworks, have attracted considerable interest due to their potential applications in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, and energy. Their rise in the field of nonlinear photonics began around 2009 and has become an important research direction. Here, the synthesis techniques, nonlinear optical properties, integration strategies, and device applications of layered materials are reviewed. In terms of nonlinear optical properties, the focus is on saturable absorption and Kerr nonlinearity. On this basis, their applications in various pulsed lasers, including fiber lasers, solid‐state lasers, waveguide lasers, and related nonlinear optical phenomenon, are summarized. In addition, novel optical devices using layered materials, such as optical modulators, optical polarizers, optical switchers, and even all‐optical device, are also involved. It is believed that the development of 2D layered materials in the field of photonics will continue to deepen, thus laying a good foundation for its practical application.

Solution-processed two-dimensional materials for ultrafast fiber lasers (invited)

“…Meanwhile, the use of SAs is a preferred method for the generation of pulses in fiber lasers [30]. Particularly, 2DM-based SAs are more attractive in terms of their broadband operation and engineerable properties [23]. Indeed, solution-processed 2DMs have been widely exploited in fiber lasers, as evident from Table 2.…”

“…For example, from a laser design perspective, SAs able to provide flexible parameters (e.g. low linear absorption and high modulation depth), and that can be easy to fabricate and integrate, are especially desirable [23,24]. These requirements, driven by a growing number of scientific and industrial applications, motivate research on new materials, novel designs, and technologies [25][26][27][28].…”

Palladium selenide as a broadband saturable absorber for ultra-fast photonics

“…The emergency of two-dimensional (2D) layered materials provided exciting opportunities for the development of novel opto-electric, bio-medical, and energy devices [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Recently, novel ultra-fast optical devices such as Q-switchers, mode-lockers, optical switchers, and so on have been investigated extensively due to their excellent opto-electric characteristics including wide-absorption band, ultra-fast recovery time, high-damage threshold, etc.…”

“…Recently, novel ultra-fast optical devices such as Q-switchers, mode-lockers, optical switchers, and so on have been investigated extensively due to their excellent opto-electric characteristics including wide-absorption band, ultra-fast recovery time, high-damage threshold, etc. [1][2][3][4][5]. Especially, 2D material-based mode lockers were widely employed for proposing ultra-fast pulsed fiber lasers, which have important applications in the fields of medicine, optical spectroscopy, chemical and biomedical researches, and so on [1][2][3][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5]. Especially, 2D material-based mode lockers were widely employed for proposing ultra-fast pulsed fiber lasers, which have important applications in the fields of medicine, optical spectroscopy, chemical and biomedical researches, and so on [1][2][3][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. In addition, 2D material-based mode-locked fiber lasers were also regarded as excellent test platforms for the research of various kinds of soliton phenomena, promoting the rapid progress of 2D ultra-fast device-based soliton research [21].…”