Q-Switched 2 Micron Solid-State Lasers and Their Applications

In this chapter, we overview the Q-switched 2 μm solid-state laser development achieved in recent years, including flash- and diode-pumped solid-state lasers based on active and passive modulators. In summary, active Q-switching is still the first choice for obtaining large pulse energy at 2 μm currently, while passive Q-switching based on saturable absorbers (SAs), especially the newly emerging broadband low-dimension nanomaterial, is becoming promising approach in generating Q-switched 2 μm lasers specially with high repetition rate, although the output power, pulse duration, and pulse energy needs further enhancement. Besides, some important applications of 2 μm lasers, such as medicine, laser radar, and infrared directional interference, have also been introduced in brief.