1645 nm Q-switched Er:YAG laser with in-band diode pumping

In this work, resonant diode pumping has been demonstrated for Q-switched and CW Er:YAG solid state lasers (SSLs) at eye-safe wavelengths. Resonant pumping was realized by using high spectral brightness 1470 nm laser diodes. An efficient 1645 nm CW laser with output power>5 W in the TEM00 mode was demonstrated. Total optical-to-optical efficiency was>19%. More than 11 mJ of output pulse energy and an output peak power of ~400 kW have been achieved in the TEM00 mode for Q-switched operation