High peak power sub-nanosecond mode-locked pulse characteristics of Nd:GGG laser

Abstract

Based on the dual-loss modulation, i.e. electro-optic (E0) modulator and GaAs saturable absorber, a sub-nanosecond mode-locked pulsed Nd:GGG laser with kHz repetition rates is presented for the first time. The repetition rate (0.5-10 kHz) of this pulsed laser is controlled by the modulation rate of EO modulator, so high stability can be obtained. The sub-nanosecond pulse width depends on the mode-locked pulse underneath the Q-switched envelope in the Q-switched mode-locked (QML) laser and high peak power can be generated. The condition on the generation of sub-nanosecond pulse and the needed threshold power for different modulation rates of EO are given. The average output power, the pulse width and the peak power versus pump power for different repetition rates are demonstrated. The shortest pulse width is 426 ps and the highest peak power reaches 239.4 kW. The experimental results show that the dual-loss modulation technology with EO and GaAs saturable absorber in QML laser is an efficient method to generate sub-nanosecond mode-locked pulsed laser with kHz repetition rates. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.