Graphene Based Passively Q-Switched Nd:YAG Eye-Safe Laser

A passively Q-switched Nd YAG eye-safe laser operating at 1444 nm with graphene as a saturable absorber is reported. Under a pump power of 23.7 W, the maximum average output power, minimum pulse width, pulse repetition rate and single pulse energy are 411 mW, 560 ns, 85 kHz, and 4.83 μJ, respectively. This is the first demonstration of a Nd:YAG eye-safe laser passively Q-switched by graphene.