Abstract

Saturable-absorber Q switching of a neodymium-doped YAlO₃ laser at 1.34 µm and an erbium-doped glass laser at 1.54 µm with a Co²⁺:MgAl₂O₄ crystal was demonstrated. Q-switched 1.34-µm pulses of 19-mJ energy and 60-ns duration and Q-switched 1.54-µm pulses of 2.7-mJ energy and 75-ns width were obtained. The ground-state absorption cross sections of the Co²⁺:MgAl₂O₄ crystal were estimated to be (2.8 ± 0.4) × 10^-19 and (3.5 ± 0.6) × 10^-19 cm² at 1.34 and 1.54 µm, respectively. The ⁴ T ₁(⁴ F) → ⁴ A ₂ relaxation time of the Co²⁺ ion in the MgAl₂O₄ crystal was measured to be ∼350 ns.

© 1999 Optical Society of America

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