6.5-ns actively Q-switched Nd:YVO_4 laser operating at 1.34 μm

With a plano-concave cavity,diode-pumped continuous-wave(CW) and actively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser operating at 1.34 μm is demonstrated.Maximum CW output power of 4.76 W and Q-switched average output power of 2.64 W are obtained with output coupler(transmission T = 3.9%).For the Q-switching operation,the theoretically calculated pulse energy and pulse width,with a pulse repetition frequency(PRF) range of 5-40 kHz,coincide with the experimental results.With a T = 11.9% output coupler,the maximum peak power of 24.3 kW and minimum pulse width of 6.5 ns are obtained when the PRF is 10 kHz.To the best of our knowledge,this is the shortest actively Q-switched pulse duration ever obtained in a 1.3-μm Nd-doped vanadate laser.     

Diode-pumped cw and Q-switched Nd:GdVO4 laser operating at 1.34 μm

A diode-pumped 1.34 m Nd:GdVO₄ laser operating in cw and active Q-switching modes has been demonstrated. 4.15 W of cw output power was obtained at the highest attainable pump power of 12.3 W, resulting in an optical conversion efficiency of 33.7%, the slope efficiency was determined to be 37.6%. In Q-switching operation, a maximum average output power of 2.7 W was generated at pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 50 kHz, with an optical conversion efficiency of 22% and a slope efficiency of 29.2%. The laser pulses with shortest duration, highest energy and peak power were achieved at PRF of 10 kHz, the parameters being 15 ns, 160 J, and 10.7 kW, respectively. By intracavity frequency-doubling with a type II phased-matched KTP crystal, 0.62 W average power at 0.67 m was produced at a PRF of 15 kHz, the resulting pulse energy, peak power, and pulse width being 41.3 J, 2.2 kW, and 19 ns, respectively. A group of analytical formulae, based on rate equations, are presented to evaluate the operational parameters of an actively Q-switched laser. Calculated results were found to be in close consistency with the experimental data.     

Generation of passively Q-switched fiber laser at 1 μm by using Mo SSe as a saturable absorber

Passively Q-switched ytterbium-doped fiber lasers(YDFLs) incorporating a molybdenum sulfide selenide(Mo SSe)-based saturable absorber(SA) are demonstrated. The modulation depth and saturation intensity of the Mo SSe-based SA are measured to be approximately 25.0% and 0.002 MW∕cm2, respectively, using the twin detector technique. The YDFL's output has a center wavelength of 1038.5 nm with a top pulse width and energy of 1.2 μs and 18.9 nJ, respectively, at a pump power of 333 mW. The Mo SSe-based SA has a good linear optical response, providing significant opportunity for use in applications over an ultra-broadband spectrum, particularly spectroscopy and biomedical diagnostics.     

Graphene oxide for diode-pumped Tm:YLF passively Q-switched laser at 2 μm

A diode-pumped Tm:YLF passively Q-switched laser at 2 μm was first demonstrated by using graphene oxide(GO) as a saturable absorber(SA).In this letter,continuous-wave(CW) laser and pulse laser performances were studied meticulously and systematically.It reasonably showed the dependence of the pulse duration,pulse energy,and pulse repetition rate on the absorbed power.A maximum repetition rate of 38.33 kHz and a single pulse energy of 9.89 μJ were obtained.     

6.5-ns actively Q-switched Nd：YVO4 laser operating at 1.34 μm

A novel design of multimode light power splitter is proposed and fabricated by using secondary asymmetric Y branches.An almost equally divided output among output terminals is obtained experimentally.Maskless laser direct writing technique is applied in the fabrication process to facilitate the formation of power splitters by ultraviolet curable polymer.The analysis of the performances of both four-port and eight-port devices shows that these two dividers obtain a power splitting uniformity of more than 95%.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched mode-locking Nd:Y0.5Gd0.5VO4 laser at 1.34 μm with Co2+:LaMgAl11O19 saturable absorber

We reporte a passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:Y_0.5Gd_0.5VO₄ laser at 1.34 μm with Co²⁺:LaMgAl₁₁O₁₉(Co:LMA) crystal as the saturable absorber. With the incident pump power of 6.56 W, a maximum output power of 242 mW was obtained. Q-switched mode-locking pulses with modulation depth nearly 100% were obtained. The width of the mode-locked pulse was estimated to be less than 600 ps.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO_4 laser with GaAs saturable absorber

The intracavity photon density is assumed to be of Gaussian spatial distributions and its longitudinal variation is also considered in the rate equations for a laser diode (LD) end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser with GaAs saturable absorber. These space-dependent rate equations are solved numerically. The dependences of pulse width, pulse repetition rate, single-pulse energy, and peak power on incident pump power are obtained. In the experiment, the LD end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser with GaAs saturable absorber is realized and the experimental results are consistent with the numerical solutions.     

High-peak-power passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 946 nm

We demonstrate a high-peak-power quasi-continuous-wave diode-pumped passive Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 946 nm. We make a thorough comparison of the output performance between the saturable absorbers of InGaAs quantum wells (QWs) and a Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal. Experimental results reveal that the saturable absorber of InGaAs QWs is superior to the Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal because of the low nonsaturable losses and leads to a pulse energy of 330 μJ with a peak power greater than 11 kW.     

Diode-pumped doubly passively Q-switched c-cut Nd:GdVO4 1.34 μm laser with V:YAG and Co:LMA saturable absorbers

By simultaneously using both V³⁺:YAG and Co:LMA saturable absorbers in the cavity, a diode-pumped doubly passively Q-switched c-cut Nd:GdVO₄ laser at 1.34 μm is demonstrated for the first time. The average output power, the pulse width and the pulse repetition rate have been measured. The experimental results show that the doubly passively Q-switched laser can generate shorter pulse width with higher peak power in comparison to the singly passively Q-switched laser only with V³⁺:YAG or Co:LMA saturable absorber. At the pump power 13 W, the pulse width has been compressed 83% and the peak power has been improved 15 times, respectively.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd : YAG laser at 1123 nm

A diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser at 1123 nm is passively Q-switched by using a low doping concentration Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal as a saturable absorber. When pumped by a 1.5-W laser diode, the laser produces pulses of 50-ns duration with a pulse energy of as much as 15 J and a peak power of 300 W at a pulse-repetition rate of 10 kHz. PACS 42.60.Gd; 42.55.Rz; 42.55.Xi     

Compact and efficient diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO_4 laser at 1.06μm

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4/Cr4+:YAG lasers with a simple flat-flat cavity were demonstrated. The maximum average output power at 1.06 μm was 1.25 W. The highest peak power and pulse energy were 7.56 kW and 75μJ, respectively, with the pulse repetition rate of 11.1 kHz and pulse width of 10 ns at the incident pump power of 8 W.     

Passively Q-switched and mode-locked 1.3 μm Nd:YAG laser with Co:LMA saturable absorber

An xenon-lamp-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) Nd:YAG laser with Co:LMA saturable absorber at 1.3 μm is realized in a straight cavity. The modulation depth of mode locking pulse has reached 100%. The pulse energy and the pulse width of QML laser have been measured. The pulse width of the mode-locking laser is estamated to be 940 ps.     

Enhanced saturable absorption of MoS_2 black phosphorus composite in 2 μm passively Q-switched Tm: YAP laser

We report the fabrication of an MoS_2 black phosphorus(BP) composite saturable absorber by liquid phase exfoliation and the spin-coating method and further exploitation to build a 2 μm passively Q-switched Tm:YAP laser. Such a composite based Q-switched laser with a duration of 488 ns and corresponding peak power of 85.9 W is obtained, which shows an improved saturable absorption effect than that of single MoS_2(616 ns,68.7 W) and BP(932 ns, 22.4 W). The results indicate that simple and reasonable fabrication of the vertical composite from two-dimensional atomic layer materials opens up the possibility to create an unprecedented saturable absorber with exciting properties.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:GGG laser at 1.3 μm with V<Superscript>3+</Superscript>:YAG saturable absorber

Using V³⁺:YAG crystal as the saturable absorber, a diode-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:GGG laser operating at 1.3 μm is realized for the first time. The mode-locking modulation depth of nearly 100% has been achieved. The maximum output power and the single Q-switched pulse energy are 410 mW and 8.3 μJ. The mode-locked pulse inside the Q-switched pulse has a repetition rate of 349 MHz, and its average pulse width is estimated to be about 750 ps.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:LuxY1−xVO4 laser at 1.34 μm with two V:YAG saturable absorbers

Laser performance with the mixed Nd:Lu_0.15Y_0.85VO₄ crystal at 1.34 μm wavelength has been demonstrated. The continuous wave (cw) operation was carried out in a simple plano-concave resonator with an optical conversion efficiency of 23% and a slop efficiency of 25%. At a pump power of 6.78 W, the Q-switched pulses with the largest average output power of 349 mW, the shortest pulse width of 30.6 ns, the largest repetition rate of 42.5 kHz, the highest peak power of 268 W and the largest pulse energy of 8.2 μJ were obtained, corresponding to the V:YAG with initial transmission of 89%.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:YLF laser with Cr~(4+):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 210μJ 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.     

High-peak-power passively Q-switched 1.3 μm Nd:YAG/V~(3+):YAG laser pumped by a pulsed laser diode

We demonstrate a high-pulse-energy, short-pulse-width passively Q-switched(PQS) Nd:YAG∕V3t:YAG laser at 1.3 μm, which is end-pumped by a pulsed laser diode. During the PQS regime, a maximum total output pulse energy of 3.3 m J is obtained under an absorbed pump pulse energy of 21.9 m J. Up to 400 μJ single-pulse energy is realized with the shortest pulse width of 6.16 ns and a pulse repetition frequency of 34.1 k Hz,corresponding to a peak power of 64.9 k W. The high-energy laser pulse is operated in the dual wavelengths of 1319 and 1338 nm, which is a potential laser source for THz generation.     

12 W Q-switched Er:ZBLAN fiber laser at 2.8 μm

A diode-pumped, actively Q-switched 2.8 μm fiber laser oscillator with an average output power of more than 12 W has been realized through the use of a 35 μm core erbium-doped ZBLAN fiber and an acousto-optic modulator; to our knowledge, this is the first 3 μm pulsed fiber laser in the 10 W class. Pulse energy up to 100 μJ and pulse duration down to 90 ns, corresponding to a peak power of 0.9 kW, were achieved at a repetition rate of 120 kHz.     

Diode-pumped Nd:YGG continuous-wave laser at 1.33 μm

We demonstrated a laser-diode pumped Nd-doped yttrium gallium garnet (Nd:YGG) crystal continuous wave (CW) laser at 1.33 μm for the first time to our knowledge. At an incident pump power of 18.5 W, as high as 3.09 W of CW output power at 1.33 μm is achieved. The slope efficiency with respect to the incident pump power was 21.3%, and the fluctuation of the output power was better than 2.8% in the given 4 h. The beam quality factor M² is 1.14 and 1.16 for tangential direction and sagittal direction, respectively.