DMSO-Ti3C2Tx-Based Saturable Absorber for Long-Term Stability of Ultrafast Fiber Laser Using Etched Fiber

Abstract

This study focuses on the design and experimental investigation of the ultrafast fiber laser featuring a MXene film-based saturable absorber on etched fiber. Following the recent advancements in ultra-fast optics involving MXenes, there has been an increased focus on exploring the potential of these materials, particularly in the realm of optical fiber laser design. However, the long-term stability of fiber lasers based on MXenes is not well-established, often limited to less than 24 hours, potentially due to the oxidation of MXene. In this study, we employ the Ti3C2Tx MXene synthesized using DMSO (DMSO-Ti3C2Tx), which exhibits superior stability compared to commonly used MILD-Ti3C2Tx. By utilizing this MXene variant in an inertial environment, we achieved exceptional long-term stability exceeding 40 hours. Notably, even two weeks after experiment initiation, a stable mode-locking regime was maintained. Furthermore, the system was optimized to explore less studied regimes such as bound-state soliton and soliton rain, while generating stable pulses with a width of 1.48 picoseconds. Our findings highlight the promising potential of DMSO-Ti3C2Tx MXene in extending the operational stability of ultrafast fiber lasers, offering opportunities for further exploration in nonlinear optical dynamics.