Active/passive Q-switching operation of 2 μm Tm,Ho:YAP laser with an acousto-optical Q-switch/MoS₂ saturable absorber mirror

Abstract

The active/passive Q-switching operation of a 2 μm a-cut Tm,Ho:YAP laser was experimentally demonstrated with an acousto-optical Q–switch/MoS2 saturable absorber mirror. The active Q-switch laser was operated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, with an average output power of 12.3 W and a maximum pulse energy of 10.3 mJ. The passive Q-switch laser was also the first acquired with an average output power of 3.3 W and per pulse energy of 23.31 μJ, and the beam quality factors of Mx2=1.06 and My2=1.06 were measured at the average output power of 2 W.