An energy adjustable linearly polarized passively Q-switched bulk laser with a wedged diffusion-bonded Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG crystal

Abstract

An energy adjustable passively Q-switched laser is demonstrated with a composite Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG crystal by applying a wedged interface inside the crystal. The theoretical model of the monolithic laser resonator is explored to show the energy adjustable feature with different initial transmissions of the saturable absorber at the horizontal axis. By adjusting the pump beam location across the Nd: YAG crystal, the output pulse energy can be flexibly changed from 10.9 mu J to 17.6 mu J while maintaining the same output efficiency. The polarization state of the laser output is found to be along with the polarization of the C-mount pump diode. Finally, the behavior of the multi-transverse-mode oscillation is also discussed for eliminating the instability of the pulse train. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America