Control of spectral parameters in vanadate lasers

This paper presents laser sources based on a novel methods control of spectral parameters in diode-pumped vanadate lasers. The operation of diode-pumped passively Q-switched variable-cut (8=var, φ=0) Nd:YVO4, Nd:GdVO4 lasers with Cr
⁴⁺
:YAG saturable absorber was experimentally investigated and their relative advantages and drawbacks were compared. The best passively Q-switched performance obtained in the experiments is from the variable-cut (θ=25°, φ=0) laser, which gives the narrowest pulse of 2.5 ns with the highest peak power of 10.3 kW.