LD-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:LuVO₄laser with a GaAs output coupler

Abstract

By using GaAs as both a saturable absorber and an output coupler, a laser-diode pumped passively Q-switched Nd:LuVO4 laser has been realized for the first time to our knowledge. The maximum laser output power of 1.91 W has been obtained at the incident pump power of 12.7 W, corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 15%. At this incident pump power, the minimum the pulse width of 3.8 ns has also been obtained at the pulse repetition rate of 952 kHz with peak power of 482 W.