High-power CW and Q-switched Tm:CaYAlO4 lasers at 1.94 μm for shallow water absorption open site


Date: Oct 27, 2017
High-power CW and Q-switched Tm:CaYAlO4 lasers at 1.94 μm for shallow water absorption

We report on 790-nm diode-pumped continuous-wave and passively Q-switched Tm:CYA lasers. For continuous-wave laser operation, a maximum output power of 7.62 W is achieved with slope efficiency of 50.9%. Passive Q-switching of the Tm:CYA crystal is also obtained with a maximum average output power of 1.32 W using a Cr:ZnSe saturable absorber. The shortest pulse width is about 42.6 ns with pulse energy of 60.2 μJ and pulse peak power of 1.41 kW. These results represent the best laser performances of continuous-wave and passively Q-switched Tm:CYA lasers, to date. The 1.94-μm Tm:CYA lasers provide better laser sources for shallow absorption of biological tissue.