Dergachev Alex
Q-Peak, Inc., Bedford, Massachusetts 01730, USA.
Opt Express. 2011 Mar 28;19(7):6797-806. doi: 10.1364/OE.19.006797.
A unidirectional, passively Q-switched, 2.05-μm Ho:YLF ring laser providing single-frequency, sub-mJ-energy, 100-200-ns-long laser pulses at a kHz rate is reported. The wavelength selection and "coarse" spectral narrowing is performed by utilizing a volume Bragg grating as a resonant, narrowband output coupler operated at a small angle away from normal incidence. Pulsed operation of the Ho:YLF oscillator and further spectral narrowing down to a single longitudinal mode is achieved via passive Q-switching using a Cr2+-doped saturable absorber.