Diode-pumped passively Q-switched mode-locked Nd:YLF laser with uncoated GaAs saturable absorber

We have demonstrated passively Q-switched mode-locked all-solid-state Nd:YLF laser with an uncoated GaAs wafer as saturable absorber and output mirror simultaneously. Q-switched mode-locking pulses laser with about 100% modulation depth were obtained. The average output power is 890 mW at the incident pump power of 5.76 W, corresponding to an optical slop efficiency of 20%. The temporal duration of mode-locked pulses was about 21 ps. At the Q-switched repetition rate of 30 kHz, the energy and peak power of a single pulse near the maximum of the Q-switched envelope was estimated to be about 1.6 μJ and 76 kW.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:YLF laser with Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber

A diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YLF laser was demonstrated by using saturable absorber of Cr4+:YAG. At the incident power of 7.74 W, pure passively Q-switched laser with per pulse energy of 210 Μj and pulse width of 19.6 ns at repetition rate of 1.78 kHz was obtained by using Cr4+:YAG with initial transmission of 80%. At the incident power of 8.70 W, a Q-switched mode-locking with average output power of 650 Mw was achieved, the overall slop efficiency was 16%, corresponding to the initial transmission of 85% of Cr4+ :YAG.     

Diode end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser with Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber

We report on a diode end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser. By using a Cr⁴⁺:YAG single crystal with an 80% initial transmission as the saturable absorber, stable Q-switched pulses with a 126-μJ pulse energy, a 12-ns pulse width, and an 8.4-kHz pulse repetition rate have been obtained. The Q-switching performance of the laser under different saturable absorption strengths and output couplings was experimentally investigated.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched and Q-switch mode-locked Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser using single-wall carbon nanotube based saturable absorber

We present the performance of diode end-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser in Q-switched and Q-switched mode-locking oscillation using a single-walled carbon nanotube based saturable absorber, which was fabricated using similar vertical evaporation technique. The average output power, repetition rate and pulse width of the Q-switched laser output were studied with different output couplers. The maximum average output power was 130 mW. For Q-switched mode-locking operation, the repetition rate of the mode-locked pulses concentrated in the Q-switched envelope was 58 MHz. The repetition rate of the Q-switched envelope maintained at 18 kHz, while the pulse width decreased along with the increasing of pump power. The maximum average output power was 53 mW.     

InAs/GaAs quantum-dot saturable absorber for a diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser at 1342 nm

We report that InAs/GaAs quantum dots were developed to be saturable absorbers as well as output couplers in diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 lasers at 1342 nm. With an incident pump power of 12.6 W, an average output power of 0.85 W with a mode-locked pulse width of 26 ps at a repetition rate of 152 MHz was obtained.     

Wall paper single-walled carbon nanotubes absorber for passively mode-locked Nd: GdVO4 laser

A novel and low-cost wall paper single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) absorber was fabricated by high viscosity of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) aqueous solution and vertical evaporation technique. Sandwich structure wall paper SWCNT (SSWA-SWCNT) absorber was constructed by a piece of wall paper SWCNT absorber, a piece of round quartz and an output coupler mirror. We exploited it to realize mode locking operation in a diode-pumped Nd: GdVO₄ laser. A pulse duration of 9.6 ps was produced with an average power of 870 mW. The stable mode locking operation was obtained when the average power is less than 300 mW.     

Single output LD end-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser with semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

A quarter-wave plate and the thin film polarizer(TFP) are used for the LD end-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser with semiconductor saturable absorber mirror(SESAM) to obtain a single beam output with a total power of 4.8 W.An optical-optical efficiency is achieved to be 24% for a stable CW mode-locking operation at 1064 nm,with a pulse repetition rate of 70 MHz and pulse width of 16 ps.The multipulse in the pulse sequence is eliminated for reaching a peak power as high as 4 kW.     

Diode end-pumped acousto-optically Q-switched compact Nd:YLF laser

Compact diode end-pumped acousto-optically Q-switched Nd:YLF laser was developed. As in effective CW diode end-pumped lasers, pump beam was made sufficiently narrower than resonator Gaussian mode to increase efficiency in Q-switched operation. The dramatic changes of output radiation structure were observed at some resonator lengths. The radiation structure is close to the Gaussian mode in intervals between these lengths.     

LD-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GGG laser at 1062 nm with a GaAs saturable absorber

we have experimentally studied the passively Q-switched performance of a diode-pumped Nd:GGG laser at 1062 nm with a GaAs saturable absorber, in the experiment when the pumped power was 9.8 W, the maximum CW output power of 5.1 W was obtained. The optical conversion efficiency and the slop efficiency were 52 and 53%, respectively. The threshold was 0.9 W. In the passively Q-switched regime, we get the average output power of 0.93 W. The shortest pulse width and pulse repetition rate were 7 ns and 188 kHz, respectively.     

Vector solitons in a laser passively mode-locked by single-wall carbon nanotubes

Polarization Rotation Locked Vector Solitons (PRLVSs) are experimentally observed for the first time in a fiber ring laser passively mode-locked by a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) saturable absorber. Period-doubling of these solitons at certain birefringence values has also been observed. We show that fine adjustment to the intracavity birefringence can swing the PRLVSs from period-doubled to period-one state without simultaneous reduction in the pump strength. The timing jitter for both states has also been measured experimentally and discussed analytically using the theoretical framework provided by the Haus model.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched mode-locked Nd:LuVO4 laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

We present a compact passively Q-switched mode-locked Nd:LuVO₄ laser run in a Z-type folded cavity with semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). The repetition rates of the passively Q-switched pulse envelope ranges from 22.99 to 141.18 kHz as the pump power increased from 2.372 to 8.960 W. The repetition rates of mode-locked laser pulses in the Q-switched pulse envelope has 111 MHz determined by the cavity length and the mode-locked pulse duration is evaluated to be 257 ps. An average output power of 823.5 mW is achieved at the pump power of 8.96 W, corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 9.2%.     

Laser diode end-pumped passively Q-switched Tm,Ho:YLF laser with Cr:ZnS as a saturable absorber

Output performance of a continuous-wave (CW) laser diode end-pumped passively Q-switched Tm,Ho:YLF laser is demonstrated with a Cr:ZnS crystal as the saturable absorber. We particularly investigate the influence of saturable absorber's position in the resonator when the Cr:ZnS crystal is placed close to and far from the laser beam waist. We compare the experimental results at the two different positions, and find that the laser shows unusual output characteristics when the Cr:ZnS saturable absorber is placed close to the beam waist. The pulse width and the pulse energy almost keep constant, measured about 1.25 μs and 4 μJ respectively, when the pump power is changed in the range of 1–1.9 W. Moreover, the pulse repetition frequency can be tuned between 1.3 kHz and 2.6 kHz by changing the pump power. The output wavelength of the passively Q-switched laser shifts to 2053 nm from 2067 nm in CW operation.     

Laser-diode end-pumped intracavity frequency doubling semiconductor saturable absorber mirror passively mode-locked picosecond lasers

A diode pumped Nd:YVO₄ semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) passive mode-locked intracavity frequency doubled laser was studied. A type II phase matching KTiOPO₄(KTP) crystal and a type I phase matching LiB₃O₅ (LBO) frequency doubling crystal were respectively inserted in the cavity. With a pump power of 4.5 W, a 90 mW output of frequency doubled beam and 29.7 ps pulse duration were achieved with frequency doubled by KTP. With the same pump power a 140 mW output of frequency doubled beam and 3.67 ps pulse duration were achieved with LBO.     

Diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser at 914 nm

We demonstrate, for the first time, to our knowledge, a diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser, operating on the 4F(3/2)-4I(9/2) transition of the neodymium ion at 914 nm. We obtained 8.8 ps pulses at approximately 914 nm at a repetition rate of 94 MHz, and an averaged output power of 87 mW by using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror.     

Diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:Lu0.15Y0.85VO4 laser with a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber

Diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:Lu_0.15Y_0.85VO₄ laser with a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber was demonstrated for the first time, to our best knowledge. The laser generated 19-ps pulses with maximum output power of 902 mW for the incident pump power of 6.5 W at the central wavelength of 1064 nm, giving an optical conversion efficiency of 14%. The continuous wave mode-locking conditions of single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber were analyzed and discussed.     

5.3-W Nd:YVO4 passively mode-locked laser by a novel semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

We report a diode end-pumped continuous wave (CW) passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser with a homemade semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). The maximum average output power is 5.3 W at the incident pump power of 17 W, which corresponds to an optical-optical conversion efficiency of 31.2% and slope efficiency of 34.7%. The corresponding optical spectrum has a 0.2-nm full width at half maximum (FWHM), and the pulse repetition rate is 83 MHz.     

5.3-W Nd:YVO_4 passively mode-locked laser by a novel semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

We report a diode end-pumped continuous wave (CW) passively mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser with a homemade semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). The maximum average output power is 5.3 W at the incident pump power of 17 W, which corresponds to an optical-optical conversion efficiency of 31.2% and slope efficiency of 34.7%. The corresponding optical spectrum has a 0.2-nm full width at half maximum (FWHM). and the pulse repetition rate is 83 MHz.     

Low-cost multiple-walled carbon nanotubes absorber for passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser

A low-cost multiple-walled carbon nanotubes/polyvinyl alcohol (MWCNTs/PVA) absorber was fabricated by the characteristics of high viscosity in large molecule PVA aqueous solution and vertical evaporation technique. Sandwich structured MWCNT/PVA absorber was constructed by a piece of MWCNT absorber, a piece of round quartz and a piece of reflective mirror. We exploited it to realize Q-switched mode locking operation in a diode-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser. The maximum average output power is about 630 mW.     

LD end-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser with single-walled carbon nanotubes

We demonstrate a LD end-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YVO₄ laser using a single-walled carbon nanotubes saturable absorber (SWCNT-SA). The SWCNT wafer was fabricated by electric arc discharge method on quartz substrate with absorption wavelength of 1064 nm. At the absorbed pump of 15.8 W, an output power of 750 mW CW (continuous wave) mode-locked laser pulse was achieved with the repetition of 79.7 MHz, corresponding to optical-optical efficiency of 4.75%.     

Optimization of diode-pumped passively Q-switched mode-locked c-cut Nd:GdVO4 laser with a GaAs saturable absorber

By considering the single-photon absorption (SPA) and two-photon absorption (TPA) processes in the GaAs saturable absorber, the coupled rate equations for a diode-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) laser with GaAs coupler under Gaussian approximation are given. The key parameters of an optimally coupled passively QML laser can be obtained by numerically solving these equations. These key parameters include the parameters of the gain medium, the saturable absorber and the resonator, which can maximize the pulse energy of singly Q-switched envelope. Sample calculations for a diode-pumped passively Q-switched mode-locked c-cut Nd:GdVO₄ laser with a GaAs saturable absorber are presented to demonstrate the optimal method applicable.