Reducing pulse durations in diode pumped Q-switched solid-state lasers

The authors describe a subminiature, laser-diode-pumped, acoustooptic Q-switched Nd:YLF laser. The laser utilizes a very short cavity and laser crystal cooling to increase gain and reduce pulse width. Exploiting this technology results in 1.321 mu m pulses with durations and peak powers of 4.7 ns and 1100 W at 2 kHz and 8.7 ns and 250 W at 10 kHz in Nd:YLF. Similarly, 10 kHz pulses at 1.047 mu m have 2.7 ns duration and 1500 W peak power, also in Nd:YLF.<
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