Passively Q-switched Tm:YAP laser based on WSe₂/CuO heterojunction saturable absorber

WSe₂ and CuO belong to transition metal chalcogenides (TMDs) and transition metal oxides (TMOs), respectively, and both are semiconductor materials that have been applied in production in many fields. In this work, WSe₂/CuO heterojunction nanocomposites were prepared by simple and non-toxic liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) and vacuum filtration methods, and WSe₂/CuO heterojunction saturable absorber (SA) devices were prepared by film transfer technology. The morphology and purity of the WSe₂/CuO heterojunction were studied. In addition, the WSe₂/CuO heterojunction SA was applied to a passively Q-switched (PQS) solid-state laser for the first time, generating a stable pulse output with a Watt-level output power, a maximum average output power of 2.32 W, a repetition frequency of 68.68 kHz, and a minimum pulse width of 752.8 ns. Our research results illustrate the great potential and broad application prospects of WSe₂/CuO composites in the field of photonic devices.