Q-switched giant pulsed erbium-doped all-fiber laser with V2ZnC MAX phase saturable absorber

MXenes, drawn from MAX phases, are special two-dimensional substances with numerous advantages in nonlinear optics, specifically in giant and ultrashort pulsed-laser applications. Ti3C2Tx and Ti2CTx nanosheets however rapidly deteriorate under ambient conditions, limiting their applications. This paper demonstrates how excellent modulation depth of one of the MAX phase compounds vanadium zinc carbide (V2ZnC) makes it a brilliant saturable absorber (SA) in passively Q-switched all-fiber pulsed lasers, integrated such that a 16.73-µm V2ZnC-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) thin film acts as SA in the laser. Saturable and non-saturable absorptions were found to be 13.2