Diode-pumped continuous wave and Q-switched operation of Nd:LuAG crystal

The continuous wave (CW) and passively Q-switched performances of Nd:LuAG crystal were demonstrated. With a laser diode as pump source, the CW output power of 2.18 W was obtained under the pump power of 4.62 W, corresponding to the optical conversion efficiency of 47.2% and the slope efficiency of 52.2%. For Q-switching experiments, the shortest pulse width, largest pulse energy, and highest peak power were measured to be 12 ns, 50.6 mu J, and 4.21 kW, respectively.