In this paper, pulsed operation of the 980 nm diode-pumped Yb:Er:glass solid-state-laser operating at 1543 nm using Co:Spinel saturable absorber is described. The Yb:Er:glass gain medium was end-pumped using a 10 W fiber-coupled 980 nm laser diode. Passively q-switched laser operation was accomplished for both CW and quasi-CW operations. Up to 2 mm thick uncoated Co:Spinel samples were used for our tests. With quasi-CW pumping, pulsewidths greater than 20 ns, pulse energies of greater than 250 μJ and free-running PRFs up to 1.2 kHz have been demonstrated. So far, up to 3 % optical-to-optical efficiency has been achieved with uncoated q-switch materials. Currently, this laser is being developed for pumping a long-wave IR (8-12 μm) optical parametric oscillator for use in spectrapolarimetric applications.
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