Er:Ca5(PO4)3F saturable‐absorber Q switch for the Er:glass laser at 1.53 μm

Passive Q switching of an Er:phosphate glass laser using Er:Ca5(PO4)3F (Er:FAP) as a saturable absorber intracavity (IC) load is described for the first time. Q‐switched output was obtained consisting of a 6‐mJ single pulse of 83 ns full width at half maximum, with a 20% efficiency relative to the corresponding free‐running output in the absence of the IC Er:FAP load.