> 100-kW linearly polarized pulse fiber amplifier seeded by a compact efficient passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 Laser

Abstract

We thoroughly develop compact high-peak-power Nd:YVO4/Cr4+:YAG passively Q-switched lasers (PQS) as the seed source of the fiber amplifier. We exploit a nearly hemispherical cavity to reach the second threshold criterion and systematically consider the thermal lensing effect and the mode-size matching in the overall optimization. Employing a Cr4+:YAG absorber with 70% initial transmission, we obtain a 50-kHz seed pulse train with the pulse duration of 4.8 ns and the pulse energy of 22 mu J at a pump power of 5.4 W. Injecting this seed laser into a polarization maintained Yb-doped fiber, the pulse energy and peak power at a pump power of 16 W are enhanced up to 178 mu J and 37 kW, respectively. We also use an absorber with 40% initial transmission to generate a 25 kHz pulse train with the pulse duration of 1.6 ns and the pulse energy of 36 mu J at a pump power of 5.4 W. With this seed laser, we find that the surface damage of the fiber limits the maximum pulse energy and peak power to be 192 mu J and 120 kW, respectively.