2D Saturable Absorbers for Potential Pulse Generation in the Visible-Wavelength Band

Abstract

Implementing compact, efficient, and reliable passive pulsed lasers at visible wavelengths is attractive. This paper systematically investigated the thickness-dependent optical absorption characteristics of two-dimensional materials, including graphene, transition-metal dichalcogenides, and dye films at the 532 nm wavelength band, and revealed the effects of thickness on different optical absorption parameters. The results suggested that dye films are more suitable for loss-sensitive pulsed lasers and graphene is more suitable for modulation depth-sensitive pulsed lasers, while transition-metal dichalcogenide samples have intermediate performance. It can provide guidance for the rational selection of saturable absorbers in pulsed all-fiber lasers to optimize the optical pulse performance in the visible-wavelength band.