The characteristics of passively Q-switched and mode-locked 1.06 μm Nd:GdVO4 laser with V:YAG saturable absorber

With V3+:YAG as saturable absorber, the simple and highly efficient 1.06 μm Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) Nd:GdVO4 laser is realized. The dependence of the output power, envelop repetition rate, and pulse width on the pump power, output coupler transmission, or cut direction of Nd:GdVO4 (a-cut or c-cut) are investigated. Employing a-cut Nd:GdVO4 and the output coupler with transmission of 27%, the maximum average output power of 3.57 W with a slope efficiency of 46% is obtained.