Q-switched pulse generation in erbium-based with niobium aluminium carbide saturable absorber

• Main Authors: Nurul Athirah Mohamad Abdul Ghafar, Arni Munira Markom, Ahmad Haziq Aiman Rosol, Nur Farhanah Zulkipli, Suziana Omar, Ahmad Razif Muhammad, Hazlihan Haris, Ismail Saad, Sulaiman Wadi Harun
• Format: Article
• Language: English; English
• Published: Semarak Ilmu 2024
• Subjects: TK2896-2985 Production of electricity by direct energy conversion; TK7800-8360 Electronics
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42086/1/ABSTRACT.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42086/2/FULL%20TEXT.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42086/; https://doi.org/10.37934/armne.19.1.99106

The viability of using Niobium Aluminum Carbide (Nb2AlC) as a saturable absorber (SA) for Q-switched pulse production utilized in erbium arrangement is reported in this research. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and the MAX phase material Nb2AlC were successfully mixed to create a SA film, which was then placed between two fiber ferrules and inserted into the cavity. Steady Q-switched pulses at 1531 nm with a maximum repetition rate of 58.21 kHz and a minimum pulse width of 3.82 s were seen after raising the pumping power from 45.45 to 81.97 mW. The highest pulse energy was measured to be 42.26 nJ at a pump power of 81.97 mW. These findings show that Nb2AlC MAXphase material can be used to make SAs that are both useful and affordable.