High power self-Q-switched Tm:YAP laser

Area of Science:

• Laser Physics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Thulium-doped lasers are crucial for mid-infrared applications.
• Self-Q-switching offers a simpler alternative to external modulation for pulsed laser generation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of cavity length on the performance of a self-Q-switched Tm:YAP laser.
• To achieve high-power, narrow-pulse output from a Tm:YAP laser without additional modulation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a concave-flat cavity design for a Tm:YAP laser.
• Adjusted the cavity length to control self-Q-switching operation.
• Measured output power, pulse width, repetition rate, and pulse energy.

Main Results:

• Achieved a maximum average output power of 9.76 W at 1993 nm with 28.78 W pump power.
• Obtained a slope efficiency of 36.9% and optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 33.9%.
• Recorded the narrowest pulse width of 485 ns at a repetition rate of 48.97 kHz, with a single pulse energy of 199.3 µJ.

Conclusions:

• Cavity length adjustment is an effective method for controlling self-Q-switched Tm:YAP laser performance.
• This study demonstrates record-high average power and narrowest pulse width for self-Q-switched Tm:YAP lasers.