Q-Switched Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser Generation using Titanium Aluminum Carbonitride Ti3Al(C0.5N0.5)2 Saturable Absorber

A new MAX-phase-based saturable absorber (SA) known as Titanium Aluminium Carbonitride, Ti3Al(C0.5N0.5)2 PVA composite film is successfully developed to demonstrate a reliable Q-switched laser in the 1.55-micron region. The Ti3Al(C0.5N0.5)2 composite film with a size of about 1 mm2 is sandwiched between two fibre ferules and integrated into an erbium-doped fibre laser (EDFL) ring cavity. The film SA has a linear absorption of about 5.7 dB at the pulsing region, and a modulation depth of 21%. The Q-switched laser, which is centred at 1561 nm, stably appears at a pump power range of 25 mW-55 mW. The Q-switched laser has the highest repetition rate of 46.3 kHz and the narrowest pulse width of 6.6 µs. The maximum calculated peak power is 1.6 mW, while the highest pulse energy is 10.54 nJ. This demonstration suggests that the Ti3Al(C0.5N0.5)2 can be an alternative SA that may have a good prospect in optical-related applications.