Short-pulsed 2.1 mu m laser performance of Cr,Tm,Ho:YAG

An examination is conducted of Q-switching in flashlamp-pumped Cr,Tm,Ho:YAG 2.1 mu m lasers. Experiments show that short-pulse operation in this material can exhibit comparable efficiencies to the long-pulse operation mode. Losses in overall efficiency are shown to be largely due to mode restriction in the resonator. A three-pulse extraction format is shown to improve slope efficiency by more than 200% compared to single Q-switched pulse extraction. The optimal interpulse interval was determined, revealing the time scale of the Tm sensitization process. Spectral shifts in the short-pulse operation mode were observed. Simultaneous dual-wavelength emission was found to be the most common mode of operation for the Q-switched laser.<
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