title: Enhancement of stability and efficiency of a nonlinear mirror mode-locked Nd:YVO(4) oscillator by an active Q-switch.
abstract: The stability and the peak power of a nonlinear-mirror mode-locked Nd:YVO(4) laser are significantly increased by the insertion of an acousto-optic modulator inside the laser cavity. The repetition rate for reliable operation can be varied in the range 35 kHz - 50 kHz. The laser generates the most intense and stable mode-locked pulses of width 9 ps lying underneath a Q-switched envelope of width 110 ns with a Q-switch modulation frequency of 38 kHz. For 10 W of pump power, a 224 times enhancement of peak power over that of cw mode-locking is obtained under reliable Q-switched and mode-locked operation.
authors.forename: Prasanta
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Datta
authors.forename: Sourabh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mukhopadhyay
authors.forename: Susanta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tartara
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agnesi
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Degiorgio