Experimental and theoretical study of a passively Q-switched Nd:LuAG laser at 1.3 μm with a V3+:YAG saturable absorber

We report the characteristics of a diode-pumped continuous-wave (CW) and passively Q-switched Nd: LuAG laser emitting 1.3 mu m wavelength. A maximum average output power of 954 mW was obtained under CW operation, giving a slope efficiency of 14.7%. With an V3+:YAG crystal wafer employed as saturable absorber, the passively Q-switched Nd:LuAG laser produced a minimum pulse duration of 17 ns under a repetition rate of 8 kHz, and a maximum single pulse energy of 18.9 mu J. A rate equation model is introduced to theoretically analyze the results obtained in the experiment, in which the Gaussian spatial distribution of the intracavity photon density and the longitudinal distribution of the photon density along the cavity axis are taken into account. The results of numerical calculations of the rate equations are consistent with the experimental results. The results indicated the Nd:LuAG crystal as a promising gain medium for achieving short pulses with high energy at 1.3 mu m. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America