Diode-side-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1123Â nm with reflective single walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber

We realized a LD-side-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1123 nm by using a single walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber (SWCNT-SA). The SWCNT film was prepared by a vertical evaporation method on quartz substrate. At the pump power of 98 W, a maximum output power of 680 mW for a stable Q-switching operation was obtained. The repetition rate varied from 15.1 kHz to 37.2 kHz with the increase of pump power. The highest single pulse energy of 12.29 μJ occurs at the repetition frequency of 24.4 kHz. The corresponding pulse width was measured to be 2.2 μs.