Characteristics of a passively Q-switched Nd:NaY(WO4)2 laser with Cr:YAG saturable absorber

By using xenon flash lamp as pump source and Cr⁴⁺:YAG as passive Q-switcher, we have performed the Q-switched laser operation at 1.06 μm with an Nd³⁺:NaY(WO₄)₂ (known as Nd:NYW) crystal. Meanwhile, the pulse width, the single pulse energy and the repetition rate under different small-signal transmissions of Cr⁴⁺:YAG and different reflectivities of output reflector are measured, and the numerical solutions of the coupling wave rate equations agree with the experimental results.     

Laser–diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:NaY(WO4)2 laser with GaAs saturable absorber

A laser–diode-pumped passively Q-switched new type crystal Nd³⁺:NaY(WO₄)₂ (known as Nd:NYW) laser with GaAs semiconductor saturable absorber has been realized. The dependence of pulse repetition rate, pulse energy, pulse width, and peak power on pump power for different output coupler reflectivities are measured. The coupled rate equations are used to simulate the Q-switched process of laser, and the numerical solutions agree with the experimental results.     

Passively Q-switched Nd:LuVO4 laser using Cr:YAG as saturable absorber

A passively Q-switched all solid-state Nd:LuVO₄ 1.06 μm laser was demonstrated by using Cr⁴⁺:YAG as saturable absorber. The characteristics of average output power, pulse width, repetition rate, pulse energy, and peak power were studied with different output couplings and initial transmission of saturable absorbers. When output coupling with the transmission of 20% was used, the shortest pulse width of 16 ns at the repetition rate of 12.5 kHz was obtained, which results in the pulse energy of 71 μJ and peak power of 4.43 kW with the initial transmission of 70% of Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal.     

Laser-diode-pumped Passively Q-switched Nd:Sr5(PO4)3F Green Laser

By using a laser-diode as pump source, a Cr4+ :YAG crystal as saturable absorber for passive Q-switch and a KTP as intracavity frequency doubling crystal, we have realized the green Q-switched laser output at 0.5295 μm from a Nd: S-FAP crystal. Output green laser characteristics, such as average power, single pulse energy, pulse width, repetition rate for different small-signal transmission of Cr4+ :YAG and different pump power, were measured. Meanwhile, the coupling rate equations of intracavity frequency doubling with Cr4+ :YAG as passive Q-switch were given and the numerical solution of equations agreed with the experimental results.     

Passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4 laser with GaAs saturable absorber

A xenon flash-lamp-pumped, passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO₄ laser with GaAs semiconductor saturable absorber is demonstrated. The static laser performance is investigated and the static output is 52 mJ when the pump energy is 9.45 J. The dynamic laser has the highest slope efficiency when the GaAs wafer is both the saturable absorber and output coupler. Pulses with duration of 64 ns and dynamic output of 47.6 mJ are obtained when the pump energy is 9.45 J. The highest dynamic–static ratio is 0.9:1. The coupled rate equations are used to simulate the Q-switched process of laser. The theoretical and experimental results are compared and discussed.     

Laser-diode-pumped Passively Q-switched Nd:Sr5(VO4)3F Laser with Cr4+:YAG Saturable Absorber

Cr4+:YAG is a new saturable absorber for passive Q-switching. As a passive Q-switcher, it has several excellent properties, such as low saturation fluence, high damage threshold, good thermal conductivity, no degradation and so on. By using a laser-diode as pumping source and Cr4+ :YAG as passive Q switcher, the passive Q-switching run in Nd: Sr5(VO4)3F laser at 1. 065 μm is realized. The average output power, the single pulse energy, the pulse width and the repetition rate for different small-signal transmission of Cr4+:YAG and different pumping power were measured. Meanwhile, the coupling rate equations for Cr4+:YAG as passive Q-switcher were given and the experimental results agreed with the numerical solution of equations.     

Passively Q-switched laser operation in a composite Nd:YVO4/Nd:YVO4/Nd:YVO4 crystal with a GaAs saturable absorber

By using a piece of GaAs wafer as the saturable absorber, the performance of the passively Q-switched composite Nd:YVO₄ laser with different output couplers has been demonstrated for the first time as far as we know. The largest continuous wave output power of 1.52 W is obtained at the incident pump power of 5.31 W, giving an optical conversion efficiency of 28.7% and a slope efficiency of 30.2%. The shortest pulse width of 11 ns, the largest single-pulse energy of 2.49 μJ and the highest peak power of 190 W are also obtained.     

Diode-pumped doubly Q-switched Nd:LuVO4 laser with AO modulator and GaAs saturable absorber

A diode-pumped doubly Q-switched Nd:LuVO₄ laser with an acousto-optic (AO) modulator and GaAs saturable absorber has been realized. The pulse profile of the doubly Q-switched Nd:LuVO₄ laser has an almost absolutely symmetric shape. The dependences of pulse width, single-pulse energy and peak power on the incident pump power under different AO repetition rates are measured. By considering the transverse Gaussian distribution of the intracavity photon density and the longitudinal distribution of photon density along the cavity axis, the coupled rate equations of the laser are given. These coupled rate equations are solved numerically and the theoretical results are in agreement with the experimental results.     

Growth and laser properties of Nd:Ca4YO(BO3)3 crystal

Nd:Ca₄YO(BO₃)₃ (Nd:YCOB) crystal was grown by the Czochralski method, and its structure was measured by using a four circle X-ray diffractometer. The transparent spectrum from 200 to 2600 nm was measured at room temperature. The fluorescence spectrum near 1.06 μm showed that the main emission wavelength of Nd:YCOB crystal was centered at 1060.8 nm. Laser output at 1.06 μm has been demonstrated when it was pumped by a Ti:sapphire laser at the wavelength of 794 nm, the highest output power was 68 mW under pumping power of 311 mW, the pumping threshold was 163 mW and slope efficiency was 46.9%. The self-frequency doubled green light has been observed when it was pumped by a Ti:sapphire or a laser diode (LD). A 14.5 mm Nd:YCOB crystal sample cut at (θ, φ)=(90°, 33°) was used for type I second-frequency generation (SHG) of the 1.06 μm laser pulse. The SHG conversion efficiency was 22%.     

Laser-diode-pumped Passively Q-switched Nd:Sr5(VO4)3F Laser with Cr4+: YAG Saturable Absorber

Cr4+:YAG is a new saturable absorber for passive Q-switching. As a passive Q-switcher, it has several excellent properties, such as low saturation fluence, high damage threshold, good thermal conductivity, no degradation and so on. By using a laser-diode as pumping source and Cr4+ :YAG as passive Q switcher, the passive Q-switching run in Nd: Sr5(VO4)3F laser at 1. 065 μm is realized. The average output power, the single pulse energy, the pulse width and the repetition rate for different small-signal transmission of Cr4+:YAG and different pumping power were measured. Meanwhile, the coupling rate equations for Cr4+:YAG as passive Q-switcher were given and the experimental results agreed with the numerical solution of equations.     

Passive Q-switching of a laser-diode-pumped intracavity-frequency-doubling Nd:NYW/KTP laser with GaAs saturable absorber

Passive Q-switching of a laser-diode-pumped intracavity-frequency-doubling Nd:NYW/KTP laser has been realized with GaAs semiconductor saturable absorber. The dependence of pulse repetition rate, pulse energy, and pulse width on incident pump power are measured. The coupled rate equations are used to simulate the Q-switched process of laser, and the numerical solutions agree with the experimental results.     

Passive mode locking of a Nd：YAG laser with co－doped Nd, Cr：YAG as saturable absorber

We demonstrate the characteristics of relatively low saturation intensity using co-doped Nd, Cr:YAG as saturable absorber for passively mode locking the Nd:YAG laser. The difference of the saturation intensity between Q-switched and mode-locked operation in co-doped Nd, Cr:YAG was only one to two orders of magnitude, while Cr:YAG was generally reported at a difference of five orders of magnitude. More than 80% mode locking modulation depth was achieved at an incident pump power of 4.4W, corresponding to an intracavity intensity of 6×10^4W/cm^2, using a 68cm long plano-concave cavity.     

Nd:Sr5(VO5)3F Q-Switched Lasers with Cr4+:YAG

The Cr4+-doped saturable absorber Cr4+:YAG is used as the passive Q-switch for a conventional pulsed Nd:Sr5(VO5)3F(Nd:S-VAP) oscillator, and the short high-peak-power pulses of laser have been obtained. The laser output characteristics are investigated under the conditions of different small-signal transmittance of Cr4+:YAG and different reflectivity of the output coupler. The rate equtions of Q-switched coupling wave are given, and the numerical solutions of equations are in agreement with the experimental results.     

Diode-pumped doubly passively Q-switched Nd:LuVO4/KTP green laser with Cr:YAG and GaAs saturable absorbers

A diode-pumped doubly passively Q-switched intracavity-frequency-doubling Nd:LuVO₄/KTP green laser with Cr⁴⁺:YAG and GaAs saturable absorbers is demonstrated. This laser can generate the shorter pulse width with higher peak power compared with the singly passively Q-switched green laser with Cr⁴⁺:YAG or GaAs saturable absorber. The relations between the pulse symmetry and the ratio of the small-signal transmissions of two saturable absorbers are investigated. By reasonably choosing the small-signal transmissions of both saturable absorbers, the doubly passively Q-switched green laser can generate the much more symmetric pulse profile. The coupled rate equations are used to simulate the passively Q-switched process of the green laser by considering the Gaussian transversal and longitudinal distributions of the intracavity photon density. The numerical results of the equations are consistent with the experimental results.     

Diode-pumped doubly Q-switched mode-locked YVO4/Nd:YVO4 laser with AO and GaAs saturable absorber

By using both acousto-optic (AO) modulator and GaAs saturable absorber, a diode-pumped doubly Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) YVO₄/Nd:YVO₄ laser is presented. The average output power and the pulse width of the Q-switched envelope have been measured. The Q-switch pulse energy of the doubly QML laser are higher than that only with GaAs. The stability of the QML laser with the dual-loss-modulation is significantly improved if compared to that only with GaAs.The experimental results show that the doubly QML YVO₄/Nd:YVO₄ laser has nearly 80% modulation depth and deeper than that of the singly passively QML pulse. The doubly Q-switched mode-locked pulse inside the Q-switched envelope has a repetition rate of 111 MHz and its pulse width is estimated to be about 700 ps. By using a hyperbolic secant square function and considering the Gaussian distribution of the intracavity photon density, the coupled equations for diode-pumped dual-loss-modulated QML laser is given and the numerical solutions of the equations are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Experimental Study on Flashlamp Pumped Nd3+:KGd(WO4)2 Laser

The lasing properties of Nd:KGW crystal in free-running mode with different transmission of the output couplers are reported. The best results have been obtained with the output coupler of 24% transmission. The slope efficiency is 1.0% and the extrapolated energy threshold is 0.54 J. A comparative experiment of Nd:KGW and Nd:YAG laser crystals has been cavried out under identical experimental conditions in both free-running and Q-switched modes. The much higher efficiency and the lower threshold for Nd:KGW (Nd: 2.2 at. -%) compared to Nd:YAG (Nd: 1.1 at. -%) at 1.064 μm are demonstrated in both operation mode.     

Diode-Pumped Passively Q-switched Single-Frequency Nd:YAG Lasers

Laser-diode pumped passively Q-switched single-frequency Nd:YAG laser has been demonstrated with a Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal as the saturable absorber. When pumped with a fiber-coupled CW laser diode, the laser produces pulses of 1.4-20.9 ns duration, with a repetition rate of 1.9-52.0 kHz. The highest peak power of 17.6 kW was obtained at an incident pump power of 1.8 W. The use of a Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber enables the laser to operate not only in a single-frequency mode but also linearly polarized. The mode selection mechanism is discussed.     

Nd:YVO4自受激拉曼激光器调Q锁模特性

利用Nd:YVO4激光晶体的自受激拉曼效应,结合Cr:YAG被动锁模技术和倍频技术,实现了结构紧凑的1176 nm和588 nm黄光锁模激光输出。激光器为LD端面泵浦,三镜折叠腔结构,并且采用了透过率为10%的输出镜。Nd:YVO4晶体长度为10 mm,Nd3+离子掺杂质量分数为0.2%,Cr:YAG晶体的初始透过率为67%。10 W激光泵浦时,1176 nm激光平均输出功率为123 mW,调Q包络宽度为6 ns,调Q包络内的锁模脉冲重复频率高达1 GHz。588.2 nm 黄光的平均输出功率为8 mW。     

Q-switched and mode-locked diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser with an intracavity composite semiconductor saturable absorber

We have demonstrated a passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:YVO₄ laser with an intracavity composite semiconductor saturable absorber (ICSSA). Stable Q-switched and mode-locked pulses with Q-switched envelope pulse duration of 180 ns and pulse repetition rate of 72 KHz have been obtained. The maximum average output power was 1.45 W at 8 W incident pump power. The repetition rate of the mode-locked pulses inside the Q-switched envelope was 154 MHz. Experimental results revealed that this ICSSA was suitable for Q-switched and mode-locked solid-state lasers.     

Diode-end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:Y0.8Lu0.2VO4 laser with Cr:YAG crystal

A diode end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd: Y_0.8Lu_0.2VO₄ laser with a Cr⁴⁺: YAG crystal is first demonstrated in this paper. The maximum continuous wave (CW) output power of 5.59 W is obtained at the incident pump power of 13.07 W with the output transmission T = 20%, resulting in an optical-to-optical efficiency of 42.7%. For Q-switching operation, the measured pulse duration of 8.5 ns, the pulse energy of 45.24 μJ and the peak power of 5.32 kW are respectively obtained for the output transmission of 50% when the Cr⁴⁺: YAG crystal is used with an initial transmission (T₀) of 60%.