Journal of the Optical Society of America B · 1997 · 29 citations · 0 references
EngineeringElectrical EngineeringOptical MaterialsOptoelectronicsPhotonicsLaser OpticsLaser PhysicsNonlinear OpticsOptical SourcesSemiconductor LasersUltrafast OpticsLaser Rate EquationsNonlinear Optical PropertiesOptical PropertiesQ-switched LasersSemiconductor Laser DiodesSemiconductor Laser Rate Equations
We report on a diode-pumped 531-nm self-frequency-doubling Nd:YAB laser passively Q switched by a Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber. Pumped by 1.4 W of 807-nm GaAlAs diode laser radiation, the Nd:YAB laser system generates 5.6-ns-long TEM00 light pulses with an energy of 1.0 µJ at a repetition rate of 45 kHz. The experimental data are compared with the results of a numerical analysis based on rate equations that consider the optical properties of the Nd:YAB crystal and of the Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber.