Two-dimensional (2D) tin diselenide (SnSe2), a novel layered material with excellent optical and electronic properties, has been extensively investigated in various promising applications, including photodetectors, optical switching, and ultrafast photonics. In this work, SnSe2 nanosheets have been obtained after pretreatment in an alkaloid, exhibiting high optical absorption and electron-enriched properties. Besides, the performances of the prepared SnSe2 in near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) ultrafast photonics are presented. Notably, by employing the SnSe2-deposited microfiber device as a saturable absorber (SA) exhibiting typical nonlinear optical absorption properties, stable ultrashort pulses and rogue waves are realized in an erbium-doped fiber laser. Furthermore, the SnSe2-deposited SA device is also applied to a thulium-doped fiber laser to achieve stable ultrashort pulses. This study indicates that SnSe2 is expected to be a suitable candidate for ultrafast fiber lasers in the NIR and MIR regions.

Black phosphorus (BP), a typical mono-elemental and two-dimensional (2D) material, has gathered significant attention owing to its distinct optoelectronic properties and promising applications, despite its main obstacle of long-term stability. Consequently, BP-analog materials with long-term chemical stability show additional potential. In this contribution, tin sulfide (SnS), a novel two-elemental and 2D structural BP-analog monochalcogenide, has been demonstrated to show enhanced stability under ambient conditions. The broadband nonlinear optical properties and carrier dynamics have been systematically investigated via Z-scan and transient absorption approaches. The excellent nonlinear absorption coefficient of 50.5×10 3cm/GW, 1 order of magnitude larger than that of BP, endows the promising application of SnS in ultrafast laser generation. Two different decay times of τ1～873fs and τ2～96.9ps allow the alteration between pure Q switching and continuous-wave (CW) mode locking in an identical laser resonator. Both mode-locked and Q-switched operations have been experimentally demonstrated using an SnS saturable absorber at the telecommunication window. Femtosecond laser pulses with tunable wavelength and high stability are easily obtained, suggesting the promising potential of SnS as an efficient optical modulator for ultrafast photonics. This primary investigation may be considered an important step towards stable and high-performance BP-analog material-based photonic devices.

Owing to its thickness-modulated direct energy band gap, relatively strong light–matter interaction, and unique nonlinear optical response at a long wavelength, few-layer black phosphorus, or phosphorene, becomes very attractive in ultrafast photonics applications. Herein, we synthesized a graphene/phosphorene nano-heterojunction using a liquid phase-stripping method. Tiny lattice distortions in graphene and phosphorene suggest the formation of a nano-heterojunction between graphene and phosphorene nanosheets. In addition, we systematically investigate their nonlinear optical responses at different wavelength regimes. Our experiments indicate that the combined advantages of ultrafast relaxation, broadband response in graphene, and the strong light–matter interaction in phosphorene can be combined together by nano-heterojunction. We have further fabricated two-dimensional (2D) nano-heterojunction based optical saturable absorbers and integrated them into an erbium-doped fiber laser to demonstrate the generation of a stable ultrashort pulse down to 148 fs. Our results indicate that a graphene/phosphorene nano-heterojunction can operate as a promising saturable absorber for ultrafast laser systems with ultrahigh pulse energy and ultranarrow pulse duration. We believe this work opens up a new approach to designing 2D heterointerfaces for applications in ultrafast photonics and other research. The fabrication of a 2D nano-heterojunction assembled from stacking different 2D materials, via this facile and scalable growth approach, paves the way for the formation and tuning of new 2D materials with desirable photonic properties and applications.