Efficient passive Q-switching operation of a diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser with a Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber

A diode-pumped highly efficient Cr4+:YAG passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4 laser formed by a plano-concave resonator has been demonstrated. At the highest attainable absorbed pump power of 11.4 W, 4.05 W of average output power, which was two thirds of the maximum corresponding cw output, was achieved with an optical conversion efficiency of 35.5%, and the slope efficiency was determined to be 46.8%, reaching 85% of the magnitude of its cw counterpart. The resulting shortest pulse duration, single-pulse energy, and peak power were found to be 13 us, 90 muJ, and 7 kW, respectively, with a pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 45 kHz. Two particularly modified resonator configurations were employed; the largest pulse energy and the highest peak power reached were, respectively, 154 muJ and 11.2 kW at 8.5 W of absorbed pump power. An analytical relation between the PRF and the absorbed pump power is given for a passively Q-switched laser, showing good consistency with experiment with a Nd:GdVO4 laser. The dependence of the operational parameters on the pump power and on the output coupling was also investigated experimentally. Issues involving the criterion for passive Q switching are discussed in some detail for Cr4+:YAG passively Q-switched neodymium-doped vanadate lasers. (C) 2003 Optical Society of America.