A diode-pumped Cr4+:YAG passively Q-switched Nd:GdTaO4 laser

A diode-pumped Cr4+:YAG passively Q-switched 1066 nm Nd:GdTaO4 laser was demonstrated for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The crystal characteristics of Nd:GdTaO4 was presented. A maximum output power of 3.03 W was obtained at an absorbed pump power of 12.6 W in the continuous-wave (CW) operation, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 28%. The pulsed Nd:GdTaO4 laser performance was investigated theoretically and experimentally. After optimization selection of Cr4+:YAG saturable absorbers, at an absorbed pump power of 12.6 W, the obtained minimum pulse width was ∼22 ns with the pulse repetition frequency of 65 kHz, and the single pulse energy and peak power were estimated to be 18.1 μJ and 0.79 kW, respectively. The laser performance can be further improved when a Nd:GdTaO4 crystal with better quality is used.