Passively Q-switched Tm:YAP laser with a tantalum aluminum carbide saturable absorber.

Tantalum aluminum carbide (Ta4AlC3) phase ceramic (MAX) material has attracted much attention because of its high conductivity, high strength, corrosion resistance, and good optical properties. However, there are too few reports on lasers with Ta4AlC3-based saturable absorbers (SAs). We prepared and characterized a Ta4AlC3-based SA whose nonlinear absorption performances were achieved at a 2 µm waveband range and which was used in a passively Q-switched (PQS) Tm:YAP laser. In the PQS mode, a maximum average output power of 0.78 W was achieved with the central output wavelength of 1991.86 nm from a PQS Tm:YAP laser, corresponding to a pulse duration of 926 ns at 143.8 kHz.