Improvement of the self-Q-switching behavior of a Cr:LiSrAlF6 laser by use of binary diffractive optics.

It has been shown experimentally and theoretically that Q-switching behavior is possible in a flashlamp-pumped Cr-doped LiSrAlF6 (Cr3+:LiSAF) laser that consists only of two mirrors, a laser crystal, and a diaphragm. We demonstrate that insertion into a laser of a binary diffractive optical element can speed up the dynamics of the self-Q-switched laser such that the output pulse is shortened (from 60 to 33 ns) and its energy is increased (from 36 to 54 mJ). The self-Q-switching behavior of the laser has the ability to produce a laser pulse with a duration that one can adjust continuously from 60 to 700 ns just by opening the diaphragm.