Achieving compact on-chip pulsed lasers with attractive performance metrics and compatibility with the silicon photonics platform is an important, yet elusive, goal in contemporary nanophotonics. Here the fundamental question of whether two-dimensional (2D) materials can be used as both gain and saturable absorption media to enable compact integrated passively $Q$-switched nanophotonic lasers is posed and addressed by examining a broad range of 2D material families. The study is conducted by developing a temporal coupled-mode theory framework involving semiclassical rate equations that is capable of rigorously handling gain and saturable absorption by 2D materials, allowing us to perform stability and bifurcation analysis covering broad parameter spaces. The range of pulse-train metrics (repetition rate, pulse width, and peak power) that can be obtained via different 2D materials is thoroughly assessed. Our work illustrates that nanophotonic cavities enhanced with 2D materials can enable passive $Q$-switching with repetition rates ranging up to 50 GHz, short pulse duration down to a few picoseconds, and peak power exceeding several milliwatts. Such attractive metrics, along with the ultrathin nature of 2D materials and the ability to electrically tune their properties, demonstrate the potential of the proposed platform for compact and flexible integrated laser sources.

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• Integrated optics
• Nanophotonics
• Optoelectronics
• Ultrafast optics
• 2-dimensional systems
• Semiconductor lasers
• Bifurcation analysis
• Electromagnetic wave theory