Compact stable passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser with tungsten disulfide saturable absorber

In this work, tungsten disulfide (WS2) based saturable absorber for passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser was demonstrated. WS2 saturable absorbers were prepared by transferring the WS2-alcohol dispersion onto substrates. Stable Q-switching operation at a central wavelength of 1064 nm was performed. The stable pulses were achieved with the single pulse width of 98 ns. WS2 seems to be a good candidate as a cost-effective material for saturable absorbers for solid-state lasers with simpler manufacturing process.