Broadband nanosecond pulse generation modulated by zirconium triselenide nanoflakes

Abstract

Broadband nonlinear optical modulators are necessary for versatile applications in optical communication, laser radar, laser manufacturing, etc. Here, we report that the zirconium triselenide (ZrSe3) nanoflakes exhibit robust broadband nonlinear optical absorption and can modulate the Nd:YVO4 solid-state laser and erbium-doped ZBLAN fiber laser to deliver stable nanosecond pulse experimentally. The ZrSe3 nanoflakes have been prepared by the liquid phase exfoliation method successfully and exhibit broadband nonlinear optical absorption in the near-infrared and the mid-infrared regime. With the nonlinear absorption performance of the ZrSe3 nanoflakes, stable pulsed operation has been achieved with the output pulse width as short as 344.68 ns around 1 µm from the Q-switched Nd:YVO4 solid-state laser and 599 ns around 2.8 µm from the erbium-doped ZBLAN fiber laser successfully. The experimental results suggest that ZrSe3 nanoflakes can act as an excellent nonlinear optical modulator towards the mid-infrared regime and may make inroads toward developing high-performance broadband optoelectronic devices.