Continuous-wave and pulsed 1,066-nm Nd:Gd 0.69 Y 0.3 TaO 4 laser directly pumped by a 879-nm laser diode.

We demonstrated an 879-nm-diode-pumped Nd: Gd0.69Y0.3TaO4 laser in continuous-wave-(CW), pulse-pumped, pulse-reflection-mode Q-switched, and cavity-dumped burst-mode Q-switched operations for the first time. A maximum output power of 9.3 W at 1,066 nm was obtained in the CW operation with a slope efficiency of similar to 48%. The slope efficiency reached the value of similar to 68% in the pulse-pumped operation. A peak power of 150 kW and pulse width of 3.4 ns were obtained in the cavity-dumped burst-mode Q-switched operation at a Q-switching repetition rate of 20 kHz. (C) 2018 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement