Passively Q-switched microlaser with controllable peak power density

摘要

Geometrical design of laser microchips is disclosed that allows variation of the optical path length in the different media by simple displacement of the microchip, the movement having a non-zero projection orthogonal to the pump beam. The concept can be implemented to vary optical loss in the lasing cavity, the absorbed pump power, or the optical length of the cavity. Passively Q-switched microchip laser output performance can thus be controlled by simple transverse displacement of the microchip relative to the pump beam. The above microlaser can be combined with voltage-controlled variable-focus output optics in order to control the peak power density of the laser pulses.