Nonlinear photoresponse of PdSe2 nanosheets for soliton operations in passive mode-locked Er-doped fiber lasers

•Tellurene as saturable absorber with optical responses was prepared by LPE method.•Conventional soliton operations and harmonic mode-locked soliton operations are demonstrated by adjusting the polarization state and pump power.•Conventional soliton mode-locked operation with pulse width of 1.41 ps was achieved.•Passively mode-locked operation has high stability.