Acousto-optic Q-switching laser performance of Yb:GdCa(4)O(BO(3))(3)crystal.

We report on the active Q-switching laser performance of Yb:GdCaO(BO) crystal, demonstrated by employing an acousto-optic Q-switch in a compact plano-concave resonator. Stable repetitively Q-switched operation is achieved with pulse repetition rates varying from 30 to 0.2 kHz, producing an average output power of 10.2 W at 1027.5 nm at 30 kHz of repetition rate, with an optical-to-optical efficiency of 30%. The maximum pulse energy generated at the lowest repetition rate of 0.2 kHz is 4.75 mJ, with a pulse width being 11 ns, gives rise to a peak power that amounts to 432 kW.