CW and passive Q-switching of 1331-nm Nd:GGG laser with Co<Superscript>2+</Superscript>:LMA saturable absorber

In this paper, the output performances at 1331 nm in continuous-wave (CW) operation and the passive Q-switching regime of a Nd:Gd₃Ga₅O₁₂(Nd:GGG) laser crystal have been investigated under pumping with diode lasers. A maximum CW output power of 1.5 W was reached at an incident pump power of 7.5 W; the overall optical-to-optical efficiency and the slope efficiency with respect to the pump power were 21.5% and 19.4%, respectively. The passive Q-switching regime was achieved with Co²⁺:LaMgAl₁₁O₁₉ (Co²⁺:LMA) saturable absorber (SA) crystals. A maximum average output power of 183 mW was recorded with a Co²⁺:LMA SA with initial transmission T _i of 90%. The pulse energy was 18.7 μJ and the pulse duration was 26.1 ns, which correspond to a pulse peak power of 0.7 kW. With a Co²⁺:LMA SA with T _i=81%, the average power decreased to 131 mW. However, the pulse energy increased to 21.4 μJ, the pulse duration was 16.4 ns and the pulse peak power increased to 1.3 kW.     

Passive Q-switching of short-length Tm-doped silica fiber lasers by polycrystalline Cr:ZnSe microchips

We demonstrate passive Q-switching of short-length double-clad Tm³⁺-doped silica fiber lasers near 2 μm pumped by a laser diode array (LDA) at 790 nm. Polycrystalline Cr²⁺:ZnSe microchips with thickness from 0.3 to 1 mm are adopted as the Q-switching elements. Pulse duration of 120 ns, pulse energy over 14 μJ and repetition rate of 53 kHz are obtained from a 5-cm long fiber laser. As high as 530 kHz repetition rate is achieved from a 50-cm long fiber laser at ∼10-W pump power. The performance of the Q-switched fiber lasers as a function of fiber length is also analyzed.     

Passive Q-switching of the diode-pumped Er:YAG laser cavity with the Q-switch based on the Fe<Superscript>2+</Superscript>:ZnSe crystal

Repetitive-pulse generation of the diode-pumped Er:YAG laser (λ = 2.94 μm) in the free mode and in the mode of cavity passive Q-switching was achieved using a Q-switch based on the Fe²⁺:ZnSe crystal. When using pump pulses 3 ms long, the pulse-average output power of the Er:YAG laser in the free generation mode was 0.5W. In the passive Q-switching mode, giant pulses 180 ns long with an energy of 3 μJ were obtained.     

基于WS2可饱和吸收体的脉冲激光器研究

利用WS₂的可饱和吸收特性,在激光二极管侧面抽运Nd:YAG固体激光器Z型腔结构中分别实现了被动调Q和被动调Q锁模运转。实验表明:当泵浦电流为9.5 A时,开始启动调Q运转,当泵浦电流大于9.8 A时,调Q激光脉冲趋于稳定。当泵浦电流为12.8 A时,被动调Q输出的最大平均功率为466 mW,最窄脉冲宽度为3.205 μs,对应的重复频率为71.70 kHz,此时最大单脉冲能量为6.5 μJ。当泵浦电流达到13.4 A时,激光器实现调Q锁模运转。调Q锁模的最高输出功率为590 mW,调Q包络频率为71.98 kHz,单个调Q包络内的脉冲串重复频率123.1 MHz,每个调Q包络中包含369个脉冲,单脉冲能量为22.2 nJ。结果表明WS₂材料可以作为可饱和吸收体用于固体激光器中。     

220 W average output power from a Q-switching Nd: YAG slab laser with a LiF:F2 crystal

By using a LiF:F^-₂ crystal as a passive Q-switching modulator an average output power of 220 W was achieved from a Nd:YAG slab laser. The oscillator-amplifier resonator configuration under investigation delivered a peak pulse power up to 3 MW and a pulse energy of 0.31 J, pulse width of 100 ns.     

Efficient graphene Q switching and mode locking of 1.34 μm neodymium lasers

We demonstrate that few-layered graphene sheets used as a saturable absorber can provide efficient Q-switching and mode-locking modulation in 1.34 μm Nd:GdVO(4) bulk lasers. The minimum Q-switched pulses were 450 ns for 260 mW average power, 43 kHz repetition rate, and 2.5 μJ pulse energy. For the mode-locked laser, an average power of 1.29 W was achieved with 11 ps pulse duration and 13 nJ pulse energy. To our knowledge, this average power is the highest yet obtained from a graphene mode-locked laser, and the corresponding optical-optical efficiency of 23% is the best result among 1.3 μm neodymium mode-locked lasers. The quality factor M(2) of the Q-switched beam was 1.4 and 1.6 in the horizontal and longitudinal planes, respectively, and the M(2) of the mode-locked beam reached 1.1 and 1.0. These results clearly indicate the advantages of few-layered graphene as a saturable absorber.     

Passively Q-switched Tm:YLF laser

Stable passive Q-switching of a Tm: LiYF4 laser is obtained using polycrystalline Cr2+: ZnS as a saturable absorber. The achieved maximum pulse energy of 0.9 mJ and peak power of 65 kW for a pulse duration of ～14 ns represent substantial improvement and highest values for a passively Q-switched diode-pumped Tm laser operating at ～1.9 μm.     

PbS-doped phosphate glasses saturable absorbers for 1.3-μm neodymium lasers

Passive mode locking and saturable absorber Q-switching of neodymium lasers at 1.3 μm with PbS-doped phosphate glasses are demonstrated. Q-switched pulses of 120 ns (0.1 μJ) in duration (energy) and the average output power of 3 mW from a quasi-cw diode-pumped Nd³⁺:KGW laser and ultrashort pulses of a maximum of 250 μJ in energy and 150 ps in duration from a Nd³⁺:YAP laser were obtained. The bleaching decay rate of the samples was found to increase with the Quantum Dot’s size decreasing due to the enhancement of quantum confinement effects for smaller dots and stronger overlapping of the electron and trap state wave functions. Received: 23 January 2002 / Revised version: 2 April 2002 / Published online: 20 December 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +375-17/232-6286, E-mail: savitski@eudoramail.com     

The characteristics of diode-pumped acousto-optic Yb:Y2Ca3B4O12 laser for Q-switching and Q-switched mode-locking

Q-switching and Q-switched mode-locked Yb:Y₂Ca₃B₄O₁₂ lasers with an acousto-optic switch are demonstrated. In the Q-switching case, an average output power of 530 mW is obtained at the pulse repetition rate of 10.0 kHz under an absorbed pump power of 6.1 W. The minimum pulse width is 79 ns at the repetition rate of 1.7 kHz. The pulse energy and peak energy are calculated to be 231 μJ and 2.03 kW, respectively. In the Q-switched mode-locking case, the average output power of 64 mW with a mode-locked pulse repetition rate of 118 MHz and Q-switched pulse energy of 48 μJ is generated under the absorbed pump power of 6.1 W.     

>100-kW linearly polarized pulse fiber amplifier seeded by a compact efficient passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 Laser

We thoroughly develop compact high-peak-power Nd:YVO₄/Cr⁴⁺:YAG passively Q-switched lasers (PQS) as the seed source of the fiber amplifier. We exploit a nearly hemispherical cavity to reach the second threshold criterion and systematically consider the thermal lensing effect and the mode-size matching in the overall optimization. Employing a Cr⁴⁺:YAG absorber with 70% initial transmission, we obtain a 50-kHz seed pulse train with the pulse duration of 4.8 ns and the pulse energy of 22 ??J at a pump power of 5.4 W. Injecting this seed laser into a polarization maintained Yb-doped fiber, the pulse energy and peak power at a pump power of 16 W are enhanced up to 178 ??J and 37 kW, respectively. We also use an absorber with 40% initial transmission to generate a 25 kHz pulse train with the pulse duration of 1.6 ns and the pulse energy of 36 ??J at a pump power of 5.4 W. With this seed laser, we find that the surface damage of the fiber limits the maximum pulse energy and peak power to be 192 ??J and 120 kW, respectively.     

Solid-state laser passively Q-switched in a new geometry

A new passive Q-switching geometry of a laser cavity has been proposed. In the proposed scheme, the volume of the passive Q-switch just partially overlaps the intracavity laser beam cross-section, leading, however, to the entire beam modulation. This technique was applied for passive Q-switching of a flash-lamp pumped multimode YAG:Nd³⁺ laser by LiF:F₂⁻ crystals. The giant pulse laser action threshold has been detected in the proposed geometry, and is lower than that in the scheme where the passive Q-switch operates in the traditional manner. Stable giant pulse oscillation of 1064 nm wavelength with a pulse duration of 24 ns, pulse energy of 450 mJ, and pulse repetition rates of up to 100 Hz, have been obtained.     

Nd:YVO4声光调Q腔内倍频457 nm蓝光激光器

脉冲蓝光激光器在水下探测、水下通信和遥感方面有着重要的应用前景。根据高斯光束传输的ABCD矩阵,设计了对热效应不灵敏的Z型谐振腔。利用808 nm激光二极管(LD)端面抽运Nd:YVO4晶棒,在室温下实现了4F3/2→4I9/2准三能级激光谱线跃迁。通过声光调Q和LBO腔内倍频,获得了稳定的高重复频率、高峰值功率457 nm蓝光激光输出。当抽运功率为30 W时,在重复频率为10 kHz下,获得最大单脉冲能量为56 μJ ,脉冲宽度为217 ns,峰值功率达258 W; 在重复频率为20 kHz下,获得最大平均功率为760 mW,脉冲宽度为261 ns,峰值功率为146 W。在最大平均输出功率下测量了脉冲457 nm蓝光激光器的功率稳定性,20 min之内其最大不稳定度小于2%。     

Pulse compression in AO Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser with V3+:YAG saturable absorber

By simultaneously using both an acoustic-optic (AO) modulator and a V³⁺:YAG saturable absorber in the cavity, for the first time to our knowledge, a diode-pumped doubly Q-switched Nd:GdVO ₄ laser has been realized. The dependence of pulse width, pulse energy and peak power on the incident pump power at determinate pulse repetition rate are measured. Under the absorbed pump power of 8.59 W, the pulse temporal profile of the AO-switching with the pulse duration of 14.5 ns, the double Q-switching with pulse duration of 7.6 ns at 10 kHz, and the passive Q-switching with pulse duration of 22.3 ns are obtained. The pulse duration is obviously compressed in contrast to the purely actively AO Q-switched laser or the purely passively Q-switched laser with V³⁺:YAG.     

MoS_2 saturable absorber prepared by chemical vapor deposition method for nonlinear control in Q-switching fiber laser

Due to the remarkable carrier mobility and nonlinear characteristic,MoS_2 is considered to be a powerful competitor as an effective optical modulated material in fiber lasers.In this paper,the Moare prepared by the chemical vapor deposition method to guarantee the high quality of the crystal lattice and uniform thickness.The transfer of the films to microfiber and the operation of gold plated films ensure there is no heat-resistant damage and anti-oxidation.The modulation depth of the prepared integrated microfiber-Moabsorber is 11.07%.When the microfiber-Mo S_2 saturable absorber is used as a light modulator in the Q-switching fiber laser,the stable pulse train with a pulse duration of 888 ns at 1530.9 nm is obtained.The ultimate output power and pulse energy of output pulses are 18.8 mW and 88 nJ,respectively.The signal-to-noise ratio up to 60 dB indicates the good stability of the laser.This work demonstrates that the Moabsorber prepared by the chemical vapor deposition method can serve as an effective nonlinear control device for the Q-switching fiber laser.     

Passive Q-switching and mode-locking for the generation of nanosecond to femtosecond pulses

The passive and hybrid Q-switching and mode-locking of solid-state lasers, dye lasers, semiconductor lasers and gas lasers is reviewed. The dynamics of saturable absorbers and reverse saturable absorbers is illustrated. The nanosecond pulse generation by passive and hybrid Q-switching of low-gain active media is described. The picosecond and femtosecond pulse generation by passive and hybrid mode-locking in low-gain and high-gain active media is analysed. The performance data of passively and hybridly mode-locked cw femtosecond dye lasers are collected. The pulse shortening of ultra-fast pulses with saturable absorbers in intra-cavity and extra-cavity configurations is discussed.     

Investigation of passively synchronized dual-wavelength Q-switched lasers based on V:YAG saturable absorber

In this paper the results of a theoretical and experimental investigation of synchronized passive Q-switching of two Nd:YVO₄-based solid-state lasers operating at two different wavelengths, is described. A V:YAG saturable absorbing material was used as a passive Q-switch performing the synchronization of the two laser fields. This material provides Q-switching operation at both 1064 and 1342 nm wavelengths simultaneously, saturating the same energy level. By adjusting the pump power of both lasers, it was possible to optimize the overlap of the two pulse trains and to switch between different states of synchronization. A theoretical model based on rate equations, which has been developed in order to investigate optical performance of the laser system, is in a good agreement with the experimental results. The principle of synchronized Q-switching can lead to new, pulsed all-solid-state light sources at new wavelengths based on sum-frequency mixing processes.     

Passively Q-switched and mode-locked diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser with LT-GaAs output coupler

We have demonstrated an efficient and compact passively Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) 1064 nm Nd:YVO₄ laser by using a low temperature grown GaAs (LT-GaAs) saturable absorber as well as an output coupler. Stable QML with envelope duration as short as 10 ns and Q-switched repetition rate of 36 kHz was obtained. It is the shortest envelope duration as far as we know, and it is so short that it can be used as Q-switching pulses directly. At 6.9 W of the incident pump power, average output power of 1.24 W was achieved and the corresponding peak power and energy of a single Q-switched pulse were 3.44 kW and 34.4 μJ, respectively. The mode-locked pulses inside the Q-switched pulse envelope had a repetition rate of 780 MHz.     

Efficient passively Q-switched operation of a diode-pumped Nd:GGG laser with a Cr:YAG saturable absorber

The continuous-wave (cw) and passive Q-switching operation of a diode-end-pumped gadolinium gallium garnet doped with neodymium (Nd:GGG) laser at 1062 nm was realized. A maximum cw output power of 6.9 W was obtained. The corresponding optical conversion efficiency was 50.9%, and the slope efficiency was determined to be 51.4%. By using Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystals as saturable absorbers, Q-switching pulse with average output power of 1.28 W, pulse width of 4 ns and repetition rate of 6.2 kHz were obtained. The single-pulse energy and peak power were estimated to be 206 μJ and 51.6 kW, respectively. The conversion efficiency of the output power from cw to Q-switching operation was as high as 84.7%.     

Dye laser pulse shortening and stabilization by Q-switching

The properties of passive Q-switched short-cavity dye lasers (SCDL) and passive Q-switched distributed-feedback dye lasers (DFDL) are investigated theoretically by using rate-equation models. The calculations, in agreement with experimental results, predict a significant decrease of the pulse energy fluctuation and the pulse duration of both the SCDL and DFDL, when passive Q-switching is used.     

High-power excimer laser systems

Two-high power excimer laser systems with square (25 × 25 cm) and circular (with a diameter of 40 cm) cross sections of the output laser beam are described. The first (second) system consists of four (five) excimer lasers. The experimental results on the generation of the high-quality high-power laser pulses are presented. Laser beams with a pulse duration of 1–250 ns, a divergence of 0.01 mrad, a spectral line width of 0.01 cm⁻¹, and a pulse energy of up to 330 J are obtained. Original Text ? Astro, Ltd., 2006.