Near-IR 1-μm high-repetition-rate pulsed radiation generated with an Yb:LuPO4 miniature crystal rod laser

We report on generation of high-power near-IR 1-mu m coherent pulsed radiation at high repetition rates, with an Yb:LuPO4 miniature crystal rod laser that was passively Q-switched with a GaAs semiconductor crystal plate acting as saturable absorber. With 18.8 W of pump power absorbed, 5.0 W of average output power at 1003 nm was generated at a pulse repetition rate of 333.3 kHz; the optical-to-optical and slope efficiencies were 26.6% and 34.0%, respectively. The shortest pulse duration obtained was 68.1 ns.