AlGaInAs quantum-well as a saturable absorber in a diode-pumped passively Q-switched solid-state laser

We demonstrate what is believed to be the first use of AlGaInAs quantum wells (QWs) as a saturable absorber in the Q switching of a high-power diode-pumped Nd-doped 1.06 mum laser. The barrier layers are designed to locate the QW groups in the region of the nodes of the lasing standing wave to avoid damage. With an incident pump power of 13.5 W, an average output power of 3.5 W with a Q-switched pulse width of 0.9 ns at a pulse repetition rate of 110 kHz was obtained.