Eye-safe 1.55  μm passively Q-switched Er,Yb:GdAl3(BO3)4 diode-pumped laser

Area of Science:

• Lasers and Photonics
• Materials Science
• Quantum Electronics

Background:

• Erbium (Er) and Ytterbium (Yb) co-doped materials are crucial for developing efficient laser sources.
• Passively Q-switched lasers offer compact and robust solutions for generating high-energy pulses.
• Gadolinium aluminum borate (GdAl3(BO3)4) is an emerging host material for laser applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the first diode-pumped passively Q-switched laser based on Er,Yb:GdAl3(BO3)4.
• To investigate the performance of a Co2+:MgAl2O4 crystal as a saturable absorber in this laser system.
• To characterize the Q-switched laser pulses in terms of duration, energy, repetition rate, and output power.

Main Methods:

• Diode-pumping the Er,Yb:GdAl3(BO3)4 laser gain medium.
• Employing a Co2+:MgAl2O4 crystal as the saturable absorber for Q-switching.
• Operating the laser in both continuous-wave (CW) pumping and burst modes.
• Measuring pulse duration, energy, repetition rate, and average output power at 1550 nm.

Main Results:

• Achieved Q-switched laser pulses with a duration of 12 ns.
• Obtained a maximum pulse energy of 18.7 μJ at a repetition rate of 32 kHz under CW pumping.
• Reached an average output power of 0.6 W at 1550 nm.
• Realized Q-switched laser pulses with a highest energy of 44 μJ in burst mode operation at a 6.5 kHz repetition rate.

Conclusions:

• Demonstrated the successful operation of a diode-pumped passively Q-switched Er,Yb:GdAl3(BO3)4 laser.
• Validated the effectiveness of Co2+:MgAl2O4 as a saturable absorber for generating nanosecond pulses.
• The developed laser system shows potential for applications requiring high-energy, short-pulse generation at 1550 nm.