Switchable Single- to Multiwavelength Conventional Soliton and Bound-State Soliton Generated from a NbTe₂ Saturable Absorber-Based Passive Mode-Locked Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser

Abstract

As a member of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), NbTe₂ has a work function of 5.32 eV and a band gap of 0 eV at the Fermi level, which enables it to possess broadband absorption characteristics and has huge potential in optoelectronic devices. In this work, a combination of liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) and optical deposition methods (ODMs) were used to fabricate a NbTe₂ saturable absorber (SA). Based on the NbTe₂ SA, a ring passive mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser (PML-EDFL) was constructed by adding NbTe₂ SA into the laser cavity. A switchable single- to multiwavelength (dual/triple/quadruple) conventional soliton (CS) and a bound-state soliton (BS) were observed for the first time. The results reveal that NbTe₂ SA has excellent saturable absorption characteristics (modulation depth of 2.6%, saturation intensity of 177.4 MW/cm², and unsaturated loss of 63.8%) and can suppress mode competition and stabilize multiwavelength oscillation. This study expands the applications of NbTe₂ nanosheets in ultrafast optoelectronics. The proposed switchable PML-EDFL has extensive applications in high-capacity all-optical communication, high-sensitivity optical fiber sensing, high-precision spectral measurements, and high-energy-efficiency photon neural networks.