Compact acousto-optical Q-switched Yb:ScBO₃ laser with giant pulse energy

In this Letter, a continuous-wave Yb:ScBO₃ laser was enhanced with a maximum output power of 1.63 W and a slope efficiency of 48.97%, pumped by a continuous-wave 965 nm diode laser. Subsequently, the first, to the best of our knowledge, acousto-optically Q-switched Yb:ScBO₃ laser was realized with an output wavelength of 1022 nm and repetition rates ranging from 0.04 to 1 kHz. The characteristics of pulsed lasers modulated by a commercial acousto-optic Q switcher were comprehensively demonstrated. With a low repetition rate of 0.05 kHz, the pulsed laser was generated under an absorbed pump power of 2.62 W, having an average output power of 0.44 W and giant pulse energy of 8.80 mJ. The pulse width and peak power were 80.71 ns and 109 kW, respectively. The findings manifest that the Yb:ScBO₃ crystal is a gain medium with great potential for Q-switched laser generation with high pulse energy.