Effects of adding metals to MoS2 in a ytterbium doped Q-switched fiber laser

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is widely used in lubricants, metallic alloys and in electronic and optical components. It is also used as saturable absorbers (SAs) in lasers (e.g. fiber lasers): a simple deposition of MoS2 on the fiber end can create a saturable absorber without the necessity of extensive alignment of the optical beam. In this article, we study the effects of adding different metals (Cr, Au, and Al) to MoS2 in a ytterbium (Yb)-doped Q-switched fiber laser. Experimental results show that the addition of a thin layer of gold and aluminium can reduce pulse durations to about 5.8 µs and 8.5 µs, respectively, compared with pure MoS2 with pulse duration of 12 µs. Experimental analysis of the combined metal and MoS2 based composite SAs can be useful in fiber laser applications where it may also find applications in medical, three dimensional (3D) active imaging and dental applications.