Actively Q-switched Laser Performance of Nd:LuAG Crystal with Birefringence Compensator

A laser diodes dual-end-pumped 1064 nm pulsed laser based on two Nd:LuAG crystal slabs using a quarter-wave plate to reduce depolarization loss is reported. The experimental results showed that both the degree of polarization and conversion efficiency increased. The electro-optic Q-switched operation was realized at a repetition rate of 500 Hz with single pulse energy of 13 mJ output. Its slope efficiency and optical-to-optical efficiency were 24 and 20 % respectively. The shortest pulse width of 9 ns was recorded, corresponding to an output peak power as high as 1.4 MW for each pulse. The beam quality factors of the pulsed laser were \( {\text{M}}_{\text{x}}^{2} = 1.7 \) and \( {\text{M}}_{\text{y}}^{2} = 1.85 \).