Comparative study between Nd:GYSGG and Nd:YAG lasers passively Q-switched by a Cr:YAG crystal

Comparative study between Nd:GYSGG and Nd:YAG lasers passively Q-switched by a Cr:YAG crystal is demonstrated. The smaller emission cross-section and longer fluorescence lifetime of the Nd:GYSGG crystal can facilitate the passive Q-switched operation to generate higher peak power, lower repetition rate and narrower pulse width than that achieves with the Nd:YAG crystal. The maximum peak power, the largest repetition rate and the narrowest pulse width based on the Nd:GYSGG crystal are 1071 W, 32.3 kHz and 29.5 ns, respectively.