Single- and multi-wavelength Nd:YAlO3 lasers at 1328, 1339 and 1364 nm

We report on the diode-pumped continuous-wave (CW) and passively Q-switched laser operation of a c-cut Nd:YAlO3 (YAP) laser crystal, CW laser operation is demonstrated for the first time with 0.61 W output power on a low-gain emission line at 1364 nm by using a 0.08-mm glass etalon. Dual-wavelength laser operation is also achieved at 1328 and 1340 nm as well as at 1340 and 1364 nm with maximum output powers of 0.87 and 0.83 W, respectively. Using graphene oxide as saturable absorber, stable Q-switching is obtained at 1339 nm with a maximum average output power of 0.43 W, a pulse width of 380 ns and a repetition rate of 76.9 kHz, thus laser pulses with 14.7 W peak power and 5.614 pulse energy. This work presents the first graphene oxide based Q-switched Nd:YAP laser and shows the effectiveness of graphene oxide as saturable absorber for the generation of 1.3 mu m laser pulses. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.