Diode-pumped Nd:YAG ceramic laser at 946 nm passively Q-switched with a Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber

We demonstrate a diode-pumped Nd:YAG ceramic laser with emission at 946 nm that is passively Q-switched by single-crystal Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber. An average output power of 1.7 W is measured under 18.4 W of incident power using an output mirror with transmission T=4%. The corresponding optical-to-optical efficiency is 9.2%. The laser runs at a pulse repetition rate of 120 kHz and delivers pulses with energy of 14 μJ and duration of 80 ns, which corresponds to a peak power of 175 W.

► We report a Nd:YAG ceramic laser with emission at 946 nm that is passively Q-switched by Cr4+:YAG.
► The maximum Q-switched average output power of 1.7 W is obtained under the pump power of 18.4 W.
► The minimum pulse width is 80 ns with the pulse repetition rate of 120 kHz, the pulse energy of 14 μJ and pulse peak power of 175 W.