Controllable Passively Q-Switched Laser

We present a novel kind of pulsed laser named controllable passively Q-switched laser (CPQL). A CPQL of Nd:YVO₄ with Cr:YAG as saturable absorber was demonstrated and studied as an example of the kind of pulsed lasers. In CPQL, as the actively controlling signal, a diode laser beam was focused onto the saturable absorber in the resonant cavity of the passively Q-switched laser (PQL) and was absorbed by the absorber to realize the active control of the CPQL. The characters of the CPQL output laser pulses, such as generation time, repetition rate, pulse width, peak power and energy per pulse, can be controlled by the operator. The CPQLs possess the advantages of both passively Q-switched laser and actively Q-switched laser. Because of their compactness, low cost and controllability, the CPQLs will find wide applications in many fields.