Diode-pumped continuous-wave and passively Q-switched 1.06 μm YVO4/Nd:GdVO4 laser

In this letter, a diode-pumped continuous-wave and passively Q-switched 1.06 μm laser with a novel composite YVO4/Nd:GdVO4 crystal was demonstrated for the first time. Theoretical calculations showed that the temperature distribution in YVO4/Nd:GdVO4 crystal was lower than that in GdVO4/Nd:GdVO4 and Nd:GdVO4 crystals under the same conditions. After optimizing the mode matching degree, a CW output power of 5.6 W of YVO4/Nd:GdVO4 laser was obtained at the incident pump power of 12 W when the output coupler with transmission of 30% was employed. Using Cr4 +:YAG crystals with initial transmission (T0) of 80% and 90% as saturable absorbers, the pulsed YVO4/Nd:GdVO4 laser characteristics were investigated. At the incident pump power of 12 W, the maximum average output power of 2.76 W and the maximum repetition rate of 189 kHz was achieved when T0 = 90% Cr4 +:YAG was used. The shortest pulse width was 28.1 ns when the initial transmission of the used Cr4 +:YAG was 80%.