Passively mode-locked YVO4/Nd:YVO4 composite crystal laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber as a high reflector

Abstract

A passively mode-locked diode end-pumped YVO4/Nd:YVO4 composite crystal laser with a five-mirror folded cavity was first demonstrated in this paper by using a low temperature semiconductor saturable absorber mirror grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition, Both the Q-switching and continuous-wave mode locking operation were realized experimentally. A stable averaged output power of 10.15 W with pulse width of about 11.2-ps at a repetition rate of 113 MHz was obtained, and the optical-to-optical efficiency of 43% was achieved. © 2008 by Astro Ltd. Published exclusively by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.