Double-loss-modulated q-switched and mode-locked Nd:Lu<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>Y<Subscript>0.85</Subscript>VO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser at 1.34 μm with single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber and AO modulator

A diode-pumped dual-loss-modulated Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) Nd:Lu_0.15Y_0.85VO₄ laser at 1.34 μm with single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber (SWCNT-SA) and acousto-optic (AO) modulator is demonstrated. The modulation depth of the dual-loss-modulated QML laser reaches 90%, being deeper than 75% that obtained by the single passively QML laser. The stability of the hybrid QML laser is significantly improved if compared to that only with SWCNT-SA. The Q-switched pulse energy and the Q-switched pulse width of the QML laser with the dual-loss-modulation are 487 and 27% of those only with SWCNT-SA, respectively.     

Actively Q-switched performance of a mixed crystal Nd:Lu<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Y<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>VO<Subscript>4</Subscript> at 1.34 μm

The actively Q-switched laser performance of the mixed Nd:Lu_0.5Y_0.5VO₄ crystal was demonstrated for the first time. At the pump power of 7.26 W, the minimum pulse width of 46.6 ns was obtained at the pulse repetition rate of 5 kHz with the cavity length of 80 mm, and the single pulse energy and peak power were calculated to be 42 μJ and 901.3 W, respectively.     

Passively Q-switched 1.32-μm Nd:YAG laser with a V:YAG saturable absorber

By using a new saturable absorber V³⁺:YAG, a flash-lamp-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1.32 μm has been realized. The single-pulse energy and the pulse width of the output laser versus the pump energy are measured. With a cavity length of 440 mm and a pump energy of 43.4 J, the obtained single-pulse output energy and pulse width are 10 mJ and 86.9 ns, respectively, corresponding to a peak power of 115 kW.     

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.     

Directly LD-pumped passively Q-switched YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript>-Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser at 1.34 μm with a V<Superscript>3+</Superscript>: YAG saturable absorber

The performance of a directly LD-pumped passively Q-switched YVO₄-Nd:YVO₄ laser at 1.34 μm with a V³⁺:YAG saturable absorber was demonstrated for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The average output power of 580 mW was obtained at the pump power of 8.8 W, corresponding to the optical conversion efficiency of 6.6% and slope efficiency of 11%. The minimum pulse width was 280 ns with the pulse repetition rate of 230 kHz, which was attained with a T = 5.6% output coupler at the pump power of 8.8 W.     

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.     

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.     

Pulse width compression and enhancement of peak power in a diode-pumped doubly Q-switched Nd:GdVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> 1.34 μm laser with AO and V<Superscript>3+</Superscript>:YAG saturable absorber

By using both acousto-optic (AO) modulator and V³⁺:YAG saturable absorber, a diode-pumped doubly Q-switched a-cut Nd:GdVO₄ laser at 1.34 μm is realized. The average output power and the pulse width for different AO repetition rate f have been measured. The experimental results show that the doubly Q-switched laser can compress the pulse width and improve the pulsed peak power in comparison to the singly Q-switched laser with AO or V³⁺:YAG saturable absorber. At the pump power 10.34 W and f = 10 kHz, the greatest pulse width compression ratio 72% and the highest peak power improvement 8.8 times have been obtained, respectively.     

Steady state mode-locking of a 1.34 μm Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser using a single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber

Steady state mode-locked operation of a neodymium laser operating on the ⁴F_3/2 → ⁴I_13/2 transition around 1.3 μm is achieved for the first time using transmitting single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) saturable absorber. The Nd:YVO₄ laser cavity was optimized for large fundamental mode volume generating an average power of 0.8 W at a repetition rate of 127 MHz in a stable train of 16.5 ps long pulses.     

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%.     

Gold nanorods as saturable absorbers for the passively Q-switched Nd:LLF laser at 1.34 μm

Gold nanorods(GNRs) with two different aspect ratios were successfully utilized as saturable absorbers(SAs) in a passively Q-switched neodymium-doped lutetium lithium fluoride(Nd:LLF) laser emitting at 1.34 μm. Based on the GNRs with an aspect ratio of five, a maximum output power of 1.432 W was achieved, and the narrowest pulse width was 328 ns with a repetition rate of 200 kHz. But, in the case of the GNRs with the aspect ratio of eight, a maximum output power of 1.247 W was achieved, and the narrowest pulse width was 271 ns with a repetition rate of 218 kHz. Our experimental results reveal that the aspect ratios of GNRs have different saturable absorption effects at a specific wavelength. In other words, for passively Q-switched lasers at a given wavelength, we are able to select the most suitable GNRs as an SA by changing their aspect ratio.     

Pulse characteristics of passively Q-switched 1.34 μm Nd:GdVO<Subscript>4</Subscript>/Co<Superscript>2+</Superscript>:MgAl<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser

Passively Q-switched output of a diode-pumped 1.34 μm Nd:GdVO₄ laser was demonstrated by using Co²⁺:MgAl₂O₄(Co²⁺:MALO) crystal as the saturable absorber for the first time. When the transmission of output mirror is 15%, the Q-switched pulse width is 110 ns and a corresponding average output power is 460 mW under the pump power of 9.69 W. The optical-optical conversion efficiency is 36%. At about 330 kHz repetition rate, the single Q-switched pulse energy and the peak power are about 1.39 μJ and 12.6 W, respectively.     

LD-pumped 1.34 μm-Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:GdVO4 laser by a V3+:YAG saturable absorber

A diode-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:GdVO₄ laser at 1.34 μm with V³⁺:YAG as the saturable absorber is realized in a V-type folded cavity. About 100% modulation depth of mode locking can be obtained as long as the pump power reaches the oscillation threshold. The width of the mode-locked pulse is estimated to be less than 280 ps with 200 MHz repetition rate within an about 980 ns-long Q-switched pulse envelope. A maximum output power of 200 mW and Q-switched pulse energy of 5.7 μJ is obtained.     

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.     

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 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.     

Passive Q-switching of 1.44 μm and 1.34 μm diode-pumped Nd:YAG lasers with a V:YAG saturable absorber

Spectroscopic data of a V³⁺:YAG passive Q-switch crystal were measured. The absorption recovery time was determined to be of 37±7 ns and the ground state absorption cross section was estimated to be 0.7×10^-18 cm² at 1.44 μm and 3.5×10^-18 cm² at 1.34 μm. Passively Q-switched operation of diode pumped 1.44 μm and 1.3 μm Nd:YAG lasers was demonstrated using this crystal as saturable absorber. Average output powers of 1.42 W (1.44 μm) and 1.56 W (1.34 μm) and pulse energies of 24 μJ (1.44 μm) and 25 μJ (1.34 μm) were observed, respectively. Received: 19 August 2002 / Published online: 12 February 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-40/42838-6281, E-mail: kretschmann@physnet.uni-hamburg.de     

120 W high repetition rate Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> MOPA laser with a Nd:YAG cavity-dumped seed laser

A master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system in which the output from an end-pumped Nd:YAG oscillator cavity dumped at 500 kHz is scaled up by a four-stage Nd:YVO₄ amplifier is reported. Decrease in extraction efficiency of the amplifier chain with crystals different from that in the oscillator was analyzed. With the 5.4 W seed output, 118 W of power was extracted from the amplifier chain at the pump power of 345 W, with an extraction efficiency of 34.2% and an overall optical–optical efficiency of 30.9% for the MOPA system. The beam quality factors were measured as M _x ²=1.45 and M _y ²=1.59 in two orthogonal directions, respectively.     

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.