Electro-optically Q-switched operation of a high-peak-power Tb:LiYF₄ green laser

We report on an electro-optically Q-switched Tb:LiYF₄ green laser pumped by a frequency-doubled optically pumped semiconductor blue laser. The electro-optically Q-switched characteristics were studied under a wide range of repetition rates from 200 Hz to 50 kHz using a KD₂PO₄ Q-switch. Up to 198 µJ of pulse energy was obtained with a pulse width of 248 ns at a repetition rate of 200 Hz, corresponding to a peak power of 797 W at 544 nm.