title: Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) as a broadband saturable absorber for ultra-fast photonics.
abstract: The nonlinear optical property of few-layered MoS₂ nanoplatelets synthesized by the hydrothermal exfoliation method was investigated from the visible to the near-infrared band using lasers. Both open-aperture Z-scan and balanced-detector measurement techniques were used to demonstrate the broadband saturable absorption property of few-layered MoS₂. To explore its potential applications in ultrafast photonics, we fabricated a passive mode locker for ytterbium-doped fibre laser by depositing few-layered MoS₂ onto the end facet of optical fiber by means of an optical trapping approach. Our laser experiment shows that few-layer MoS₂-based mode locker allows for the generation of stable mode-locked laser pulse, centered at 1054.3 nm, with a 3-dB spectral bandwidth of 2.7 nm and a pulse duration of 800 ps. Our finding suggests that few-layered MoS₂ nanoplatelets can be useful nonlinear optical material for laser photonics devices, such as passive laser mode locker, Q-switcher, optical limiter, optical switcher and so on.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: D Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Loh