Two-wavelength passively Q-switched ytterbium doped fiber laser

A high power passively Q-switched dual wavelength Yb fiber laser using a Cr4+: YAG saturable absorber has been realized. Two wavelengths centered at 1040 nm and 1070 nm are generated directly from the cladding pumped Yb doped fiber laser. The pulse trains exhibit regions of stability and instability dependent on the pump power. At a pump power of 7.8 W, 1040 nm and 1070 nm pulses are generated alternatively, with pulse durations of 105 ns, pulse-repetition rates of 32 KHz and average pulse energies of 56 mu J and 47 mu J, respectively. A theoretical model is developed to simulate the two-wavelength Q-switched operation, which gives qualitative agreement with the experimental observations. (c) 2008 Optical Society of America.