Efficient sub-joule energy extraction from a diode-pumped Nd:LuAG amplifier seeded by a Nd:YAG laser

We report on a joule-level diode-pumped Nd:YAG-Nd:LuAG hybrid active mirror amplifier chain, producing an output energy of 1.52 J at 10 Hz in a 10 ns Q-switched pulse, while a pulse energy of 623 mJ is extracted from the Nd:LuAG stage, corresponding to an optical-to-optical efficiency of 21.7%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of high-energy nanosecond pulse amplification in a Nd:LuAG laser with extracted pulse energies approaching the joule level. The excellent scaling performance confirms Nd:LuAG as a very promising gain medium for high-energy, short-pulse lasers.