Laser Diode Pumped Actively Q-Switched Nd∶GdVO_4 Self-Stimulated Raman Laser

Generation of compact and efficient self-stimulated Raman pulses by a laser diode (LD) pumped actively Q-switched c-cut Nd∶GdVO_4 laser is demonstrated. At 1.8 W incident pump power, the self-stimulated Raman laser produces stable 19 ns pulses at a Stokes wavelength of 1176 nm with 10 μJ pulse energy at 10 kHz repetition rate. The threshold of the self-stimulated Raman laser is 510 mW, the conversion efficiency from the diode pump to the Stokes is 5.6%. Experimental results reveal that efficient self-stimulated Raman conversion frequency can be achieved with a c-cut Nd∶GdVO_4 crystal and actively Q-switched.