Passively Q-switched Er,Yb:GdMgB₅O₁₀ microchip laser with Cr:ZnS thin layer saturable absorber

We demonstrate continuous wave and passively Q-switched Er,Yb:GdMgB 5 O 10 microchip lasers emitting in the spectral range of 1.5–1.6 µ m. A maximal output power of 220 mW was obtained at 1568 nm at an absorbed pump power of 2.3 W with a slope efficiency of 18%. By using an MBE-grown Cr:ZnS thin layer as a saturable absorber laser pulse with a duration of 24 ns and an energy of 3 µ J at a repetition rate of 50 kHz were obtained at a wavelength of 1568 nm.