888 nm pumped dual Nd:YVO4 crystals acousto-optic Q-switched laser

888 nm pumped acousto-optic (AO) Q-switched laser with high output power and high efficiency under dual Nd:YVO4 crystals configuration is firstly demonstrated and rate equations for dual-crystal lasers are further ameliorated and investigated. In continuous wave (CW) operation, we experimentally achieve a maximum output power exceeding 50 W. The global optical efficiency reaches 49.5% and the slope efficiency attains 55.5% via using a 1.5 at.% crystal with a 0.5 at.% crystal. In Q-switch operation, by utilizing double 0.5 at.% crystals, the global optical efficiency rises from 25.6% to 45.6% and the pulse duration varies from 26.2 to 42.4 ns when pulse repetition frequency (PRF) increases from 10 to 100 kHz. The measured beam quality factors M2 at 100 kHz are 1.012 and 1.041 with 52.8 W output power in the two orthogonal directions respectively.