Q switching of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser with GaAs

Abstract

We investigated the properties of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser that is passively Q switched by a thin, singlecrystal GaAs wafer. At 3 W of incident pump power, the laser produced stable 7-ns pulses with 20 microJ of energy at a 6-kHz repetition rate. For pump powers up to 2.2 W, which resulted in 13.2-microJ pulses, the output mode was TEM(00). The shortest pulses that we observed were 3 ns in duration. In addition to saturable absorption, we find that two-photon absorption and free-carrier effects determine pulse formation.

Activation Energy of69Ga,71Ga, and75As Nuclei in GaAs:Mn2+Single Crystal

“…Because of its high saturated-electron velocity and excellent electron mobility, GaAs-based devices can be operated at higher frequencies and power levels with less noise than their silicon-based counterparts can. GaAs is also frequently used for lasers as a saturated absorber, infrared output coupler, and frequency-converting unit [4][5][6][7]. Semi-insulating GaAs is a suitable material for fabrication of particle detectors used in high-energy and nuclear physics [8,9].…”

Laser-Induced Defects in a Bulk GaAs Used as an Output Coupler in an Nd : YAG Laser Cavity

“…Recently, GaAs crystals are frequently used as nonlinearoptical elements, saturable absorbers for passive Q-switching and mode locking, and an output mirror [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. In comparison with active Q-switching, passive technologies can considerably simplify a design, improve the efficiency and reliability, and reduce the cost of the laser sources.…”

“…In comparison with active Q-switching, passive technologies can considerably simplify a design, improve the efficiency and reliability, and reduce the cost of the laser sources. In [6], a semiconductor GaAs crystal with a thickness of 0.5 mm is used as a saturable absorber, and the pulses as short as 10 ps are received while in other papers the obtaining of durations 3 ns [7], 15.5 ns [8], 78 ns [9], and from 90 up to 800 ns [10] is reported. Though in these papers, it is shown that GaAs can be effectively used as a saturable absorber, the mechanism of formation of pulses up to now is not found out in detail.…”

Trigonal splitting and local structure of Co2+ cluster in zinc oxide metaborate crystal

“…Passive Q-switches employ an effect of saturable absorption and do not require external power supply and control, so they have a simpler construction as compared with the active Q-switches. The passive Q-switching crystals for a 1.06 µm laser, such as YAG: V 3+ [1][2][3] and GaAs [4], have already been investigated by many researchers. Due to the "eye-safe" characteristic of 1.54 µm lasers, the passive Q-switching of 1.54 µm lasers has been the subject of intense investigation in recent years.…”