title: Passively Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser at C-band region based on WS₂ saturable absorber.
abstract: We demonstrate a Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser using tungsten disulfide (WS₂) as a saturable absorber. The WS₂ is deposited onto fiber ferrules using a drop-casting method. Passive Q-switched pulses operating in the C-band region with a central wavelength of 1560.7 nm are successfully generated by a tunable pulse repetition rate ranging from 27.2 to 84.8 kHz when pump power is increased from 40 to 220 mW. At the same time, the pulse width decreases from a maximum value of 3.84 μs to a minimum value of 1.44 μs. The signal-to-noise ratio gives a stable value of 43.7 dB. The modulation depth and saturation intensity are measured to be 0.99% and 36.2  MW/cm², respectively.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Ruslan
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Reduan
authors.forename: C S J
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sathiyan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sivabalan
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Harun