Diode edge-pumped passively Q-switched microchip laser

There is an increasing demand for high-intensity subnanosecond lasers for emerging industrial applications. While femtosecond and picosecond laser sources are considered promising, they suffer from the significant drawbacks of increased complexity and cost. In this regard, we demonstrate a unique edge-pumped passively Q-switched Nd∶YAG∕Cr4þ∶YAG microchip laser. The microchip is made of a Nd∶YAG∕Sm∶YAG composite ceramic, and a Sm∶YAG cladding is utilized as both the pump beam waveguide and amplified spontaneous emission absorber. With the use of a flat-concave laser cavity, we obtain single-pulse energy of 1.66 mJ for an absorbed pump energy of 24 mJ. Further, the resulting pulse width is 683 ps, and the repetition rate is 10 Hz.© The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI. [DOI: 10.1117/1.OE.54.9