350 mJ electro-optically Q-switched 2.79 µm Cr:Er:YSGG MOPA

Abstract

We report on developing three flashlamp-pumped electro-optically Q-switched Cr:Er:YSGG lasers with the Q-switch based on a La3Ga5SiO14 crystal. The “short” laser cavity was optimized for high peak power applications. In this cavity, 300 mJ output energy in 15 ns pulses at a 3 Hz repetition rate was demonstrated with pump energy below 52 J. However, several applications, such as Fe:ZnSe pumping in a gain-switched regime, require longer (∼ 100 ns) pump pulse duration. We developed a 2.9 m long laser cavity that delivers 190 mJ of output energy in 85 ns pulses for these applications. We also demonstrated the Cr:Er:YSGG MOPA system producing 350 mJ output energy at 90 ns pulse duration and 47.5 J of pumping, corresponding to an amplification factor of 3.