Laser characteristics of Nd 3+ -doped calcium barium niobate ferroelectric crystal at 1.06 and 1.34 μm

We report on diode-pumped Nd3+-doped calcium barium niobate ferroelectric crystal (Nd:CBN-28) lasers at 1.06 and 1.34 μm. The maximum output power of the 1.06 μm laser reaches 0.69 W in the continuous-wave regime, which is believed to be the highest output power with Nd:CBN-28 crystal to date. Using a chopper to modulate the pump, the highest output power further improves to 0.77 W. Passively Q-switched laser operation at 1.06 μm, using a Cr:YAG saturable absorber, is realized with a maximum average output power of 89 mW, a pulse width of 220 ns, and a pulse energy 10.8 μJ. A quasi-continuous-wave laser at 1.34 μm with a chopper is also demonstrated with maximum output power of 56 mW. The scaled output power in the fundamental wave should be favorable for the investigation on broadband nonlinear self-frequency conversion into visible.