Laser diode pumped high-energy single-frequency Er:YAG laser with hundreds of nanoseconds pulse duration

We demonstrated a high-energy single-frequency erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet(Er:YAG)laser.With1470 nm laser diodes(LDs)as pumping sources,single-frequency laser pulses with energy of 28.6 m J,21.6 m J,and 15.0 m J are obtained at pulse repetition frequency of 200 Hz,300 Hz,and 500 Hz,respectively.As far as we know,this is the highest single-frequency pulse energy with the Er:YAG gain medium.With the ring cavity design,pulse duration is maintained at hundreds of nanoseconds.This high-energy single-frequency laser with hundreds of nanoseconds pulse duration is a prospective laser source for light detection and ranging applications.