2D Black Phosphorus Saturable Absorbers for Ultrafast Photonics

2D nanomaterials are emerging as a promising platform for ultrashort-pulse fiber laser technology. This review presents a catalog of the factors affecting the nonlinear optical properties of 2D nanomaterials and the recent progress in processing and integration strategies into saturable absorber devices as versatile, wideband ultrafast optical switches for fiber-based-laser short-pulse generation. Particular focus is on black phosphorus, and a summary of the current status of black-phosphorus-based pulsed lasers is given, which provide new potential efficacy for this and other 2D nanomaterials in ultrafast photonic technology.