Diode-pumped continuous wave and Q-switched operation of Nd:CaYAlO4 crystal

The continuous wave (CW) and passively Q-switched performances of Nd:CaYAlO4 crystal with both a- and c-cut were demonstrated. The CW output powers of 1.15 W and 1.26 W were obtained under the pump power of 8.96 W with slope efficiencies of 15.2% and 16.8% for a- and c-cut samples, respectively. As a result, new dual-wavelength all-solid-state lasers at 1080 nm and 1081 nm were achieved with c-cut crystal. By using Cr4+:YAG wafer as saturable absorber, we performed Q-switching experiments. The highest average output powers and shortest pulse widths were measured to be 0.798 W, 10.6 ns and 0.537 W, 9.6 ns for a- and c-cut samples, respectively. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America