1.36 W Passively Q-Switched YVO4/Nd:YVO4 Laser With a WS2 Saturable Absorber

By using WS2 as saturable absorber (SA), a diode-pumped passively Q-switched YVO4/Nd:YVO4 laser is demonstrated. Under the pump power of 6.28 W, a maximum output power of 1.36 W and minimum pulse duration of 56 ns with a repetition rate of 1.03 MHz are obtained, resulting in a peak power of as high as 23.6 W. So far as we know, it is the shortest pulse duration in Q-switched lasers with 2-D materials. The experimental results show that WS2 is an excellent SA for all-solid-state Q-switched lasers.