LD-pumped actively Q-switched Yb:YAG laser with an acoustic-optical modulator

Abstract

We have investigated an acoustic-optical Q-switched Yb:YAG laser end-pumped by a fiber-coupled laser diode. At room temperature, the 1030-nm wavelength pulsed output is realized. When the incident power was 11.3 W, a maximum average output power of 1.034 W is achieved at the repetition frequency of 20 kHz, and this corresponds to an optical conversion efficiency of 9.1%. The shortest laser pulse width of 37.4 ns was observed at the repetition frequency of 5 kHz, when the incident power was 11.3 W. The highest peak power 6.79 kW was achieved at the repetition frequency of 1.12 kHz, when the incident power was 8.7 W. The highest single-pulse energy of 319.67 μJ was achieved at the repetition frequency of 1.12 kHz, when the incident power was 10.14 W.