Passive Q-switching of a diode pumped Nd3+:CGGG crystal: Benefits of inhomogeneous line broadening and short pulse generation

Experimental results on passively Q-switched diode pumped Nd3+:Ca2Ga2Ge3O12 (Nd3+:CGGG) multicenter laser crystal are presented. Pulse duration has been found to be unaffected by the inhomogeneous line broadening of emission bands. On the other hand, pulse energies as well as pulse peak powers obtained from the Nd3+:CGGG crystal have been obtained to be almost three times larger than those obtained from a Nd3+:YAG crystal operating in exactly the same experimental conditions. This improvement has been explained in terms of the nonhomogeneous distribution of Nd3+ ions in the CGGG lattice which leads to a reduced stimulated emission cross section. Finally, preliminary results concerning short pulse generation from a diode pumped microchip Nd3+:CGGG laser are also presented.