We present a low-cost multimode diode pumped passively Q-switched Cr:LiCAF laser operating near 800 nm. AlGaAs-based saturable Bragg reflectors (SBRs) were used for passive Q-switching. The system is experimentally characterized in detail using four different output couplers and two SBRs with modulation depths. Pulse widths the 1.5–4 µs range at repetition rates between 18 40 kHz achieved avera...

Passively Q-switched microchip lasers enable great potential for sophisticated lidar systems due to their compact overall system design, excellent beam quality, and scalable pulse energies. However, many near-infrared solid-state operate at >1000 nm which are not compatible with state-of-the-art silicon detectors. Here we demonstrate a passively laser operating 914 nm. The consists of 3 mm l...