Details
Extremely high ground state absorption (GSA) cross section of
7x10-18 cm2 near 1.3 m and negligible excited state absorption (ESA)
permits Q-switching of 1.3 and 1.44 m Nd-lasers without intracavity
focusing both with flash-lamp and diode-laser pumping. Negligible
excited-state absorption results in high contrast of Q-switch,
i.e. the ratio of initial (small signal) to saturated absorption
is higher than 10. Finally, excellent optical, mechanical, and thermal
properties of the host crystal give an opportunity to design
compact and reliable laser sources with this passive Q-switch.
