Graphene/MoS
2
heterostructure: a robust mid-infrared
optical modulator for Er
3+
-doped ZBLAN fiber laser
Pinghua Tang (唐平华)
1
,YueTao(陶 月)
1
, Yuliang Mao (毛宇亮)
1
, Man Wu (吴 熳)
2
,
Zongyu Huang (黄宗玉)
1
, Shengnan Liang (梁胜男)
1
, Xinhang Chen (陈新行)
1
,
Xiang Qi (祁祥)
1,
*, Bin Huang (黄 斌)
2
, Jun Liu (刘 军)
3
, and Chujun Zhao (赵楚军)
2,
**
1
Hunan Key Laboratory for Micro-Nano Energy Materials and Devices, School of Physics and Optoelectronics,
Xiangtan University, Xiangtan 411105, China
2
Key Laboratory for Micro-/Nano-Optoelectronic Devices of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and
Electronics, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
3
SZU-NUS Collaborative Innovation Center for Optoelectronic Science & Technology, Key Laboratory of
Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of
Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
*Corresponding author: xqi@xtu.edu.cn; **corresponding author: cjzhao@hnu.edu.cn
Received September 23, 2017; accepted November 10, 2017; posted online January 26, 2018
We have prepared the graphene∕MoS
2
heterostructure by a hydrothermal method, and presented its
nonlinear absorption parameters and application as a nonlinear optical modulator in the mid-infrared region.
Using the nonlinear optical modulator, stable passively Q-switched operation of an Er
3þ
-doped
ZrF
4
-BaF
2
-LaF
3
-AlF
3
-NaF (ZBLAN) fiber laser at ∼2.8 μm can be obtained. The Q-switched Er
3þ
-doped
ZBLAN fiber laser can yield per-pulse energy up to 2.2 μJ with the corresponding pulse width and pulse rep-
etition rate of 1.9 μs and 45 kHz, respectively. Our results indicate that the graphene∕MoS
2
heterostructure can
be a robust optical modulator for pulsed lasers in the mid-infrared spectral range.
OCIS codes: 160.4330, 140.3070, 140.3540.
doi: 10.3788/COL201816.020012.
Two-dimensional (2D) materials offer a platform that
allows the creation of heterostructures with unique and
unprecedented properties to play an important role in
modern electronic devices, and optoelectronic devices,
etc.
[1]
. 2D nan omaterials, such as graphene and molybde-
num disulfide (MoS
2
), possess excell ent nonlinear optical
response as a nonlinear optical modulator, which have at-
tracted considerable attention in pulsed laser generation
[2]
.
To date, graphene as an optical modulator has success-
fully been used to generate Q-switched and mode-locked
pulses in fiber lasers and solid-state lasers with the
operating waveband coverage from near-infrared to
mid-infrared
[3–5]
. However, the relatively weak optical
response (2.3% absorption with monolayer graphene) in
a widely spectral region limits its applica tion
[6]
. Although
the absorption intensity in graphene can be enhanced by
various approaches, such as employing twisted bilayer
graphene
[6]
, graphene plasmons
[7]
, and a microcavity
[8]
,
unwanted nonsaturable losses will rise. Motived by the
progress of graphene, many other graphene-like 2D
materials, such as a topological insulator
[9–12]
, black phos-
phorus
[13–17]
, gold nanorods
[18,19]
, and transition-metal
dichalcogenides (TMDCs)
[20–24]
, have been explored as
an optical modulator to achieve pulse d lasers.
MoS
2
, a typical TMDC, exhibits great potential in
optoelectronic applications for its tunable bandgaps and
strong light–matter interaction
[25]
. Unlike semi-metallic
graphene, MoS
2
is a semiconductor with the band gap
changing from indirect to direct when the thickness is
reduced to a monolayer, and this indirect-to-direct
gap transition sparks off great enhancement in the
photo-response
[26]
. Moreover, MoS
2
exhibits strong
light–matter interaction in association with Van Hove sin-
gularities in the density of states
[27]
. Recently, using MoS
2
as the optical modulator, researchers have realized
broadband Q-switching (Q-S) and mode-locking
[20,21,28–33]
.
However, MoS
2
alone used as an optical modulator suffers
from the relatively long relaxation time of the intra-
band excitation in comparison with graphene
[34]
and the
rapid recombination of the photo-excited electron–hole
pairs
[26]
.
Fortunately, triggered by the progress of the nano-
composite, researchers have explored a new functional
material, namely, the graphene∕MoS
2
heterostructure,
which succeeds in the advantages of graphene and
MoS
2
, while it overcomes their disadvantages
[25,35]
. Studies
have demonstrated that the advantages of ultrafast
relaxation, broadband response from graphene, and the
strong light–matter interaction from MoS
2
can be com-
bined together by the graphene∕MoS
2
heterostructure
[25]
.
Moreover, photo-excited electron-hole pairs produced by
MoS
2
can be easily separated at the MoS
2
and graphene
interfaces in these heterostructures
[26]
. These excellent
photoelectric properties make the graphene∕MoS
2
heterostructure a promising optical modulator. Recently,
Zhao et al.
[36]
and Jiang et al.
[25]
have realized both Q-S and
mode-locking at 1 and 1.5 μm, using the graphene∕MoS
2
heterostructure as the optical modulator, respectively.
COL 16(2), 020012(2018) CHINESE OPTICS LETTERS February 10, 2018
1671-7694/2018/020012(4) 020012-1 © 2018 Chinese Optics Letters