Tunable passively Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser based on Ti3C2Tx MXene as saturable absorber

•Ti3C2Tx MXene based SA for Q-switching.•EDF cavity with center lasing wavelength of 1563 nm.•Maximum repetition rate of 48.74 kHz and minimum pulse width of 1.18 µs.•Maximum pulse energy of pulse energy of 82.06 nJ.•44 nm tuning range from 1532 nm to 1576 nm. The passive generation of Q-switched pulses in an erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser using a Ti3C2Tx MXene based saturable absorber (SA) was demonstrated. The SA was formed using Ti3AlC2 MAX phase as a precursor for Ti3C2Tx MXene which was obtained by etching Ti3AlC2 using a mixture of lithium fluoride and hydrochloric acid. The generated pulse output was obtained at a central wavelength of 1563 nm with a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of 51.1 dB at a pump power of 244.5 mW. Varying the pump power from 130.1 mW to 244.5 mW resulted in corresponding changes in the repetition rates and the pulse durations from 29.76 kHz to 48.74 kHz and 2.74 µs to 1.18 µs respectively. A pulse energy of 82.06 nJ was also obtained at the maximum pump power. Stable Q-switching could be observed up to 44 nm tuning range starting from 1532 nm to 1576 nm. The generated outputs indicated that the Ti3C2Tx based SA can generate high quality and stable Q-switched pulses in the EDF laser cavity, and has high potential for use in various optical telecommunications applications.