Passively Q-switched Nd-doped waveguide laser

A passively Q-switched waveguide laser operating at 1.054 μm has been demonstrated in a Nd-doped phosphate glass. The channel waveguide was fabricated by K-ion exchange from a nitrate melt. Passively Q-switched pulses were achieved by placement of an acetate sheet containing an organic saturable-absorbing dye within the laser cavity. The resulting pulse train consisted of pulses with a FWHM of ~25 ns and peak powers of 3.04 W. With an 80% transmitting output coupler, cw operation of the laser provided 5.2 mW of output power at 1.054 μm for 229 mW of absorbed 794-nm pump power.