Abstract

Passive Q-switching of lasers can be a simple and effective way to achieve high power pulses. At 1064nm, Cr⁴⁺:YAG has been widely implemented as a passive Q-switch [1], however, the average output power of such lasers has largely been limited to ~1W. In this work, we demonstrate passive Q-switched laser operation to > 11W, the highest average power ever achieved at 1064nm with Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber, to the best of our knowledge.

© 2011 Optical Society of America