$Q$ -Switched Performance of Diode Pumped Nd : Lu$_{x(x = 0.15)}$Y$_{1 - x}$VO$_{4}$ Lasers

A continuous-wave (CW) and actively
Q
-switched Nd:Lu
_x
(
x
=0.15) Y
_1-x
VO
₄
laser was demonstrated for the first time. The maximum CW output power of 9.92 W was obtained, corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 52.5% and a slope efficiency of 56.1%. For actively
Q
-switched operation, a 10.4-ns pulse was attained with the repetition frequency of 10 kHz. Under the same conditions, the pulse energy and the peak power were estimated to be 0.6 mJ and 57.9 kW, respectively.