Continuous wave and active Q-switched operation of Watt-level LED-pumped two-rod Nd,Ce:YAG laser

A high-performance LED-side-pumped two-rod Nd,Ce:YAG laser with continuous-wave(CW) and acousto–optical(A-O) Q-switched operation is demonstrated in this work. A symmetrically shaped flat–flat cavity with two identical LEDside-pumped laser modules is employed for power scalability. In the CW regime, the maximum output average power of laser at 1064 nm is 4.41 W, corresponding to a maximum optical conversion efficiency of 5.3% and a slope efficiency is 12.4%. In the active Q-switched regime, the pulse energy of laser reaches as high as 0.89 m J at a repetition rate of 800 Hz with a pulse width of 457.2 ns, the corresponding highest peak output power is 1.94 k W and the M~2 factor is measured to be about 8.8. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first demonstration and the highest performance of a CW LED-side-pumped two-rod laser Nd,Ce:YAG with Watt-level output reported so far.

Multiphonon-assisted acousto-optical Q-switched laser at 1130 nm in Yb:YCOB crystal

In this Letter,we realized the phonon-assisted Q-switched laser operation in Yb:YCOB crystal.Differing from previous laser wavelengths below 1.1μm,we extended the wavelength to 1130 nm by amplifying multiphonon-assisted electronic transitions.At a repetition rate of 0.1 k Hz,the laser output power was 82 m W with a pulse width of 466.1 ns,corresponding to a high peak power of 1.76 k W and a single pulse energy of 0.82 m J,respectively.To the best of our knowledge,this represents the highest pulse energy among all Yb^(3+)-doped crystal lasers at the wavelength beyond 1.1μm.Such a large pulse energy could be explained by the laser rate-equation theory.These results indicated that the electron-phonon coupling effect not only extends the lasing wavelengths but also enables a fast temporal response to support nanosecond,picosecond,even femtosecond pulse laser operation.

1.5-MHz repetition rate passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser based on WS2 saturable absorber

A transmission-type tungsten disulfide（WS_2）-based saturable absorber（SA） is fabricated and applied to passively Q-switched Nd：YVO_4 laser.The WS_2 nanosheets are deposited on a quartz substrate by the vertical evaporation method.By inserting the WS2 SA into the plano-concave laser cavity,we achieve 153-ns pulses with an average output power of1.19 W at 1064 nm.To the best of our knowledge,both of them are the best results among those obtained by the Q-switched solid-state lasers with WS_2-based absorbers.The repetition rate ranges from 1.176 MHz to 1.578 MHz.As far as we know,it is the first time that MHz level Q-switched pulses have been generated in all solid state lasers based on low-dimensional materials so far.

Passively Q-switched diode-pumped Tm,Ho:LuVO4 laser with a black phosphorus saturable absorber

We presented a passively Q-switched(PQS) diode-pumped c-cut Tm, Ho:LuVO_4 laser with a black phosphorus saturable absorber for the first time.Under PQS mode, an average output power of 0.86 W and a peak power of 2.32 W were acquired from the Tm, Ho:LuVO4 laser with the pump power of 14.55 W, corresponding to a pulse width of 2.89 μs,a pulse repetition rate of 71.84 kHz, and a pulse energy of about 6.70 μJ.

Passively Q-Switched Nd,Cr:YAG Laser Simultaneous Dual-Wavelength Operation at 946 nm and 1.3μm

A diode-end-pumped Q-switched high-efficiency Nd, Cr：YAG laser with simultaneous dual-wavelength emission at 946nm and 1.3μm is demonstrated. The maximum output power of 1.93 W with simultaneous dual-wavelength operation is achieved at an absorbed pump power of 13.32 W and an absorbed slope efficiency of 15.15%. The maximum optical-optical efficiency is 14.49% with pulse widths of 16.38ns at 946nm and 26.65ns at 1.3μm. A maximum total repetition rate of 43.25 kHz is obtained.

Widely Tunable Middle Infrared Optical Parametric Oscillator Pumped by the Q-Switched Ho：GdVO_4 Laser

We demonstrate a middle infrared ZnGeP_2 optical parametric oscillator pumped by the Q-switched Ho：GdVO_4 laser. When the incident Ho pump power is 4.12 W, the maximum average output power of the ZGP-OPO laser is 2.05 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 74.6%. The ZGP-OPO laser produces 4.2 ns mid-infrared pulses at a pulse repetition rate of 5 kHz. In addition, we obtain 0.8 um of tunable range for the signal wave and 2.1 um of tunable range for the idler wave.

Q-Switched Ytterbium-Doped Fiber Laser Using Black Phosphorus as Saturable Absorber

We demonstrate a Q-switched ytterbium-doped fiber laser （YDFL） using a newly developed multi-layer black phosphorous （BP） saturable absorber （SA）. The BP SA is prepared by mechanically exfoliating a BP crystal and sticking the acquired BP flakes onto a scotch tape. A small piece of the tape is then placed between two ferrules and incorporated in a YDFL cavity to achieve a stable Q-switched operation in a 1.0 μm region. The laser has a pump threshold of 55.1 mW, a pulse repetition rate that is tunable from 8.2 to 32.9 kHz, and the narrowest pulse width of 10.8 μs. The highest pulse energy of 328 nJ is achieved at the pump power of 97.6 mW. Our results show that multi-layer BP is a promising SA for Q-switching laser operation.

Q-Switched Raman Fiber Laser with Molybdenum Disulfide-Based Passive Saturable Absorber

We demonstrate a Q-switched Raman fiber laser using molybdenum disulfide （MoS2） as a saturable absorber （SA）. The SA is assembled by depositing a mechanically exfoliated MoS2 onto a fiber ferrule facet before it is matched with another clean ferrule via a connector. It is inserted in a Raman fiber laser cavity with a total cavity length of about 8kin to generate a Q-switching pulse train operating at 1560.2nm. A 7.7-kin-long dispersion compensating fiber with 584 ps.nm-i km-1 of dispersion is used as a nonlinear gain medium. As the pump power is increased from 395 m W to 422 m W, the repetition rate of the Q-switching pulses can be increased from 132.7 to 137.4 kHz while the pulse width is concurrently decreased from 3.35μs to 3.03μs. The maximum pulse energy of 54.3 nJ is obtained at the maximum pump power of 422 roW. These results show that the mechanically exfoliated MoS2 SA has a great potential to be used for pulse generation in Raman fiber laser systems.

Continuous-Wave and Actively Q-Switched Diode-Pumped Er:LuAG Ring Laser at 1650 nm

We demonstrate a cw and actively Q-switched Er：LuAO laser resonantly dual-end-pumped by 1532nm fibre- coupled laser diodes. A maximum cw output power of 1.9W at 1650.3nm is obtained at a pump power of 25.5 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 43.3 %. In the Q-switched regime, the maximum pulse energy of 3.51 mJ is reached at a pulse repetition rate of 100 Hz, a pulse duration of 90.5ns and a pump power of 25.5 W. At the repetition rate of 400 Hz, the output energy is 2.12m J, corresponding to a pulse duration of 125.4 ns.

Acousto-Optically Q-Switched Operation of Yb:CNGG Disordered Crystal Laser

We report the repetitively Q-switched laser operation of the Yb-doped calcium niobium gallium garnet disordered garnet crystal, achieved with an acousto-optic modulator in a compact plano-concave resonator that is endpumped by a 935-nm diode laser. An average output power of 1.96 W is produced at pulse repetition rate of50 k Hz at emission wavelengths around 1035 nm, with a slope efficiency of 16%. The highest pulse energy of 269 μJ is generated at pulse repetition rate of 1 k Hz, with pulse width 12.1 ns and peak power 20.53 kW.

Q-Switched Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser Using Cadmium Selenide Coated onto Side-Polished D-Shape Fiber as Saturable Absorber

A stable Q-switched erbium doped fiber laser emitting at 1558 nm is demonstrated using a cadmium selenide（CdSe） material coated onto a side-polished D-shape fiber as the saturable absorber（SA）. By elevating the input pump power from the threshold of 91 mW to the maximum available power of 136 mW, a pulse train with a maximum repetition rate of 57.44 kHz, minimum pulse width of 3.76 us, maximum average output power of7.99 mW, maximum pulse energy of 0.1391 uJ, and maximum peak power of 36.99 mW are obtained. The signalto-noise ratio of the spectrum is measured to be around 75 dB. This CdSe based SA is simple, robust, and reliable,and thus suitable for making a portable pulse laser source.

High-Power Passively Q-Switched Nd:YAG Laser at 1112 nm with a Cr^(4+):YAG Saturable Absorber

A high-power passively Q-switched Nd：YAG laser operating at lll2nm with Cr4＋：yAO as a saturable absorber is demonstrated. Under 808 nm diode-direct pumping, the maximum average output power of 2.73 W is achieved at the pump power of 16.65 W, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 16.4%. At the same time, the pulse width, pulse repetition rate, single pulse energy and peak power are 27.2ns, 9 kHz, 303.3#3 and 11.2kW, respectively. As far as we know, the result gives the highest average output power at 1112nm generated by an 808 nm diode-end-pumped Nd：YAG laser.

Erbium-Doped Zirconia-Alumina Silica Glass-Based Fiber as a Saturable Absorber for High Repetition Rate Q-Switched All-Fiber Laser Generation

We propose and demonstrate a Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser （EDFL） using an erbium-doped zirconia-alumina silica glass-based fiber （Zr-EDF） as a saturable absorber. As a 16-cm-long Zr-EDF is incorporated into a ring EDFL cavity, a stable Q-switching pulse train operating at 1565？nm wavelength is successfully obtained. The repetition rate is tunable from 33.97？kHz to 71.23？kHz by increasing the pump power from the threshold of 26？mW to the maximum of 74？mW. The highest pulse energy of 26.67？nJ is obtained at the maximum pump power.

Efficient Passively Q-Switched Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG/LBO Microchip Laser

Performance of an LD-end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd： YA G/Cr4＋ ： YA G microchip laser operating at 1123 nm is studied. A maximum average output power of 517row with an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 12.6% and a slope efficiency of 25.8% is obtained under a pump power of 4.1 W. A minimum pulse width of 1.1 ns with a pulse repetition rate of 20.2kHz is obtained, and the corresponding pulse energy and peak power are 25.6μJ and 23.3kW, respectively. To our knowledge, the 23.3kW peak power is the highest among 1123nm lasers. Additionally, based on the 1123 nm laser, with LBO as the frequency doubler, a 288-mW green-yellow laser at 561 nm is successfully achieved.

Zinc Oxide-Based Q-Switched Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser

We demonstrate a Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser （EDFL） using a newly developed zinc oxide- （ZnO） based saturable absorber （SA）. The SA is fabricated by embedding a prepared ZnO powder into a poly（vinyl alcohol） film. A small piece of the film is then sandwiched between two fiber ferrules and is incorporated in an EDFL cavity for generating a stable Q-switching pulse train. The EDFL operates at 1560.4nm with a pump power threshold of 11.8mW, a pulse repetition rate tunable from 22.79 to 61.43kHz, and the smallest pulse width of 7.00 μs. The Q-switching pulse shows no spectral modulation with a peak-to-pedestal ratio of 62 dB indicating the high stability of the laser. These results show that the ZnO powder has a great potential to be used for pulsed laser applications.

The Effect of Injected Energy on Low Energy Single Longitudinal Mode Pre-Lase Q-Switched Pr:YLF Laser

In this paper, the effect of injected energy on low energy single longitudinal mode (SLM) pre-lase Q-switched is analyzed and the optimization procedure is shown in detail. Here, taking the Pr:YLF laser as an example of low energy laser, and the parameters of Pr:YLF laser by using pre-lase have been shown. Compared with normal Q-switched laser, the single pulse energy reaches 60.16% and the pulse width exceeds 39.73% when the same maximum energy is injected and SLM is achieved in pre-lase. The analysis results show that pre-lase is suitable for low energy laser to obtain SLM and there be an optimal performance to achieve the optimal energy output.

Q-switched and Mode-locked Characteristics of Cr^(4+)∶YAG Crystal

The passively Q-switched and mode-locked（QML） characteristics in a diode-pumped Nd∶GdVO4 laser with Cr4+∶YAG saturable absorbers have been demonstrated. A maximum average output power of 710mW has been obtained in the QML laser. The maximum energy of a single Q-switched pulse is 52.5μJ, with the corresponding pulse width of 30ns and the peak power of 1.75kW, at the incident pump power of 7.75W. The repetition rates of the Q-switched envelope and the mode-locked laser pulse are 16.7kHz and 680MHz, respectively.

A Laser-Diode-Pumped Nd:YAG Laser Q-Switched with a YAG Color Center Chip

A laser-diode-pumped Nd: YAG laser Q-switched Passively with a YAG colorcenter chip has been deveolped. The Q-switched pulse output has a duration of 25-70ns,an energy of about 7.9 μJ and a repetition frequency of 1.25-5.0kHz when the laser cavityparameters and pump power are changed. The Q-switched dynamics is analyzed with therate equation theorry. The theoretical and experimental results agree well.

Zinc-oxide nanoparticle-based saturable absorber deposited by simple evaporation technique for Q-switched fiber laser

A Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser(EDFL)incorporating zinc-oxide(ZnO)nanoparticles-based saturable absorber(SA)is proposed and demonstrated.To form the SA,the ZnO nanoparticles,which are originally in the powder form,are first dissolved in ethanol and subsequently deposited onto the surface of fiber ferrule by using the adhesion effect with the evaporation technique.By integrating the ZnO nanoparticle-based SA into a laser cavity of an EDFL,a self-started and stable Q-switching is achieved at a low threshold power of 20.24 mW.As the pump power is increased,the pulse repetition rate is tunable from 10.34 kHz to 25.59 kHz while pulse duration decreases from 21.39μs to 3.65μs.Additionally,this Q-switched laser has a maximum energy per pulse of 19.34 nJ and an average output power of 0.46 mW.These results indicate the feasibility and functionality of the ZnO nanoparticles-based SA for Q-switched generation,which offers the flexibility and easy integration of the SA into a ring laser cavity.

Generation of Q-Switched Mode-Locked Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser Operating in Dark Regime

We demonstrate a stable Q-switched mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser （EDFL） operating in dark regime based on the nonlinear polarization rotation technique. The EDFL produces a pulse train where the Q-switching envelope is formed by multiple dark pulses. The repetition rate of the Q-switched envelope can be increased from 0.96kHz to 3.26kHz, whereas the pulse width reduces from 211 #s to 86#s. The highest pulse of 479nJ is obtained at the pump power of 55 mW. It is also observed that the dark pulses inside the Q-switching envelope consist of two parts： square and trailing dark pulses. The shortest pulse width of the dark square pulse is obtained at 40.5μs when the pump power is fixed at 145mW. The repetition rate of trailing dark pulses can be increased from 27.62kHz to 50kHz as the pump power increases from 55mW to 145mW.