Continuous wave and passively Q-switched laser performance of Nd:LuxGd3-xGa5O12 crystal at 1062 nm

Continuous wave (CW) and passively Q-switched (PQS) laser properties at 1062 nm of the Nd:LuxGd3-xGa5O12 (Nd: LGGG) disordered crystal have been demonstrated. The doping concentrations of Nd3+ and Lu3+ in the as obtained crystal were measured to be 0.96 and 0.66 at.%, respectively. In the CW regime, the output power of 9.73 W was obtained with an optical-to-optical efficiency as high as 60.7% and slope efficiency of 61.2%. During the passively Q-switched operation, the maximum output power of 1.24 W was achieved under the absorbed pump power of 6.86 W. The maximum peak power of 14.20 kW and single pulse energy of 148 mu J were obtained with the T-oc = 10% under the absorbed pump power of 6.36 W. The results are much better than those obtained with Nd:LGGG crystal doped with 13.6 at.% Lu3+ and 0.53 at.% Nd3+ ions. (C) 2012 by Astro, Ltd.