Growth and Q-switching performance on mixed laser crystal Nd0.0055(Gd0.64Y0.36)0.9945VO4

A Nd0.0055(Gd0.64Y0.36)0.9945VO4 mixed laser crystal has been successfully grown by the Czochralski method. Properties of this crystal have been introduced. Formed with a simple concave-plano resonator, passive Q-switching operation of a diode-pumped Nd0.0055(Gd0.64Y0.36)0.9945VO4 laser with Cr4+:YAG has been demonstrated. For the Q-switched operation, the maximum average power was measured to be 1.11 W with a corresponding pulse repetition rate of 10 kHz and a Q-switched pulse duration of 7.6 ns. The largest single Q-switched pulse energy of 111 μJ and the highest peak power of 14.61 kW have been obtained in the laser.