43 W, 7 ns constant pulse duration, high-repetition-rate langasite cavity-dumped Ho:YAG laser and its appilcation in mid-infrared ZGP OPOs

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrate a langasite (LGS) electro-optic Ho:YAG cavity-dumped laser that suppresses the gain dependence of pulse duration in Q-switched lasers. A constant pulse duration of 7.2 ns was achieved at a repetition rate of 100 kHz. Benefiting from the LGS crystal has no significant reverse piezoelectric ring effect and thermally induced depolarization, a stable pulse train was achieved at an output power of 43 W. For the first time, the application of cavity-dumped laser in mid-infrared (mid-IR) ZnGeP2 (ZGP) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) has been realized, providing a reliable way to achieve high repetition rates and short nanosecond pulse times for high-power mid-infrared ZGP OPOs. The average output power was 15 W, corresponding to a pulse duration of 4.9 ns and a repetition rate of 100 kHz.