Abstract

A ${\mathrm{MoSe}}_2$ nanosheets-based saturable absorber (SA) was fabricated successfully by the liquid-phase exfoliation method. A passively $Q$-switched crystalline Yb:YAG laser was realized with the ${\mathrm{MoSe}}_2$ SA inserted inside the cavity. The shortest pulses at a wavelength of 1049 nm with a duration of 250 ns, maximum repetition rate of 181 kHz, and an average output power of 158 mW were emitted, corresponding to a maximum pulse energy of 0.87 μJ. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental demonstration of the nonlinear absorption property of ${\mathrm{MoSe}}_2$ nanoplatelets in a crystalline Yb-doped solid-state laser, which also proves the great potential of the ${\mathrm{MoSe}}_2$ SA as an optical modulator in the 1 μm spectral region.

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