Ultra-compact Q-switched eye-safe glass laser

Abstract

Er,Yb co-doped glass has been widely used to generate 1.5-μm Q-switched pulsed lasers, which are in strong demands for such applications as remote sensing telemetry, LiDAR and imaging. Aiming to meet such demands, we developed a ultra-compact and lightweight diode-pumped solid-state laser, which can achieve a Q-switched pulse energy of 1.5 mJ at an eye-safe wavelength of 1534-nm with an optical conversion efficiency of 3.4% under pump power of 22 W in the operating frequency range of 1-10 Hz. In the experiment, a 940-nm semiconductor laser was used to pump an Er,Yb co-doped glass with a saturable absorber (Co2+:Spinel) to realize Q switching. A theoretical model was then developed to simulate and characterize the Er,Yb co-doped glass laser. The model takes into account not only the excited state absorption and up-conversion effects, but also the thermal effects on the laser. The simulation results are in high agreement with the experimental ones.