High-efficiency diode-pumped actively Q-switched ceramic Nd:YAG/BaWO₄ Raman laser operating at 1666 nm.

A diode-pumped actively Q-switched Raman laser employing BaWO4 as the Raman active medium and a ceramic Nd:YAG laser operating at 1444 nm as the pump source is demonstrated. The first-Stokes-Raman generation at 1666 nm is achieved. With a pump power of 20.3 W and pulse repetition frequency rate of 5 kHz, a maximum output power of 1.21 W is obtained, which is the highest output power for a 1.6 mu m Raman laser. The corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 6%; the pulse energy and peak power are 242 mu J and 8.96 kW, respectively. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America