Energy enhancement of mixed Nd:LuYSGG crystal in passively Q-switched lasers.

The continuous-wave (cw) and passively Q-switched laser performances of mixed Nd:Lu(2)YSc(1.5)Ga(3.5)O(12) (Nd:LuYSGG) crystal at 1.06 μm were reported for the first time. The cw output power reached 4.39 W at the absorbed pump power of 10.34 W with slope efficiency of 48.0%. With a Cr(4+):YAG crystal as both the saturable absorber and output coupler, a passively Q-switched laser was realized with the maximum average output power of 1.43 W and slope efficiency of 21.0%. The shortest pulse width, largest pulse energy, and highest peak power were 4.1 ns, 157.1 μJ, and 38.3 kW, respectively. Compared with Nd:Lu(3)Sc(1.5)Ga(3.5)O(12) (Nd:LuSGG) crystal, the pulse energy and peak power are enhanced over more than two times for Nd:LuYSGG. The results show that Nd:LuYSGG crystal is a promising laser material with large energy storage capacities and suitable for the application of pulsed lasers with shorter pulses and larger energies.

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