Characterization of passively Q-switched microchip lasers for laser radar

Here we report the characterization of the temporal jitter of a passively Q-switched Nd:YAG microchip laser. We experiment with different control schemes to reduce the observed jitter. Measurements were made for microchip laser temperatures from 10 degree(s) to 50 degree(s)C. The microchip laser was operated at various pulse rates from 500 Hz to 26 kHz.