Diode-pumped continuous-wave and passively Q-switched 1.06 μm YVO ₄/Nd:GdVO ₄ laser

In this letter, a diode-pumped continuous-wave and passively Q-switched 1.06 μm laser with a novel composite YVO ₄/Nd:GdVO ₄ crystal was demonstrated for the first time. Theoretical calculations showed that the temperature distribution in YVO ₄/Nd:GdVO ₄ crystal was lower than that in GdVO ₄/Nd:GdVO ₄ and Nd:GdVO ₄ crystals under the same conditions. After optimizing the mode matching degree, a CW output power of 5.6 W of YVO ₄/Nd:GdVO ₄ laser was obtained at the incident pump power of 12 W when the output coupler with transmission of 30% was employed. Using Cr ^{4 +}:YAG crystals with initial transmission (T ₀) of 80% and 90% as saturable absorbers, the pulsed YVO ₄/Nd:GdVO ₄ laser characteristics were investigated. At the incident pump power of 12 W, the maximum average output power of 2.76 W and the maximum repetition rate of 189 kHz was achieved when T ₀ = 90% Cr ^{4 +}:YAG was used. The shortest pulse width was 28.1 ns when the initial transmission of the used Cr ^{4 +}:YAG was 80%.