Sub-MHz Self-Q-switching in Nd:LuAG Laser

TL;DR

This paper reports the first self-Q-switched Nd:LuAG laser at 1064 nm, achieving high power and repetition rate, demonstrating the technique's effectiveness and expanding the understanding of Nd:LuAG laser characteristics.

Contribution

It introduces the first self-Q-switching Nd:LuAG laser, showing high power and repetition rate, and analyzes the underlying mechanisms and factors influencing performance.

Findings

Output power of 6.61 W at 21.32 W pump power

Pulse width from 532.2 ns to 652.6 ns

Repetition rate between 488.6 kHz and 551.9 kHz

Abstract

A compact pulsed Nd:LuAG laser at 1064 nm based on the self-Q-switching technique is reported, having the output power as high as 6.61 W at the incident pump power of 21.32 W, corresponding to the optical conversion efficiency of ~31 %. The temporal width of the pulse was in the range from 532.2 ns to 652.6 ns, and the repetition rate varied between 488.6 kHz and 551.9 kHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the self-Q-switching Nd:LuAG laser. Possible reasons for the self-Q-switching of Nd:LuAG were also provided, and the factor leading to the high repetition rate was analyzed. The compact cavity generating pulses with high output power and high repetition rate not only reveal that the self-Q-switching technique could be an efficient method for the generation of pulses with high output power and high repetition rate, but enrich the characteristics of Nd:LuAG crystal.