Q-Switched Pulse Generation in Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser Cavity with Vanadium Aluminum Carbide Absorber.

We report the feasibility of vanadium aluminum carbide (V2AlC) for implementation as a saturable absorber (SA) for Q-switched pulse generation in Erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) cavity. The V2AlC, a MAX phase material is successfully combined with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to form a SA film for use in generating stable Q-switched pulses operating at 1559 nm with a maximum repetition rate of 53.55 kHz and a minimum pulse width of 2.54 μs. The maximum pulse energy equal to 57.14nJ is recorded at a 71.5 mW pump power. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of EDFL passive Q-switching using V2AlC absorber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]