Graphene-based passively Q-switched Nd:KLu(WO4)2 eye-safe laser operating at 1,425 nm

Abstract

With graphene as saturable absorber, an Nd:KLu(WO4)2 eye-safe laser operating at 1,425 nm is demonstrated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that an Nd:KLu(WO4)2 laser operates at the eye-safe 1.4-μm region. A maximum total average output power of 170 mW is obtained under the pump power of 9.6 W, corresponding to an optical–optical efficiency of 1.77 %. The minimum pulse width and the highest pulse repetition rate are 153 ns and 97 kHz, respectively. Also the characteristics of the graphene used as saturable absorber for a 1.4-μm laser were studied for the first time.