Passive mode-locking performance comparison between composite and single Nd:YVO4 crystals

Abstract The mode-locked performances of composite and conventional Nd:YVO 4 crystals were demonstrated with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. For the conventional crystal, power saturation was observed when the pump power exceeded 5.31 W, while for the composite crystals, the output power increased linearly with the pump power, showing good thermo-mechanical performances. The maximum average output power of 1.2 W was achieved by a composite crystal at an incident pump power of 7.09 W. The largest pulse energy of 34.6 nJ and the highest peak power of 4.9 kW with a pulse duration of 7 ps were also obtained by the same composite crystal while the non-composite crystal got the shortest pulse duration of 5.3 ps. The theoretical analysis on pulse duration for different laser media is in agreement with the experimental result.