Passively Q-switched microchip laser based picosecond light source in the visible-red to near-infrared band for semiconductor excitation.

We developed a visible-red to near-infrared wavelength tunable all-solid-state laser system utilizing an optical parametric generation process in a MgO doped PPLN crystal pumped at 532 nm by an amplified and frequency doubled picosecond passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 microchip laser. A broad bandwidth, tuneable over 300 nm between 710 nm to 1015 nm, is accessible. Depending on the green pump light pulse energy, pulses with durations down to 69 ps as well as pulses with energies above 2 µJ were achieved with kHz repetition rates.