Picosecond laser with active mode locking and calcium lithium niobium gallium disordered Nd3+-activated garnet

A laser was constructed in which the active medium was a crystal of calcium lithium niobium gallium garnet activated with Nd³⁺ ions. An acoustooptic modulator made of an LiNbO₃ crystal and a passive LiF switch with F₂ colour centres were used in this laser. The combination of active mode locking and Q switching made it possible to generate laser pulses of 10–15 ps duration at the wavelength λ = 1061.2 nm with a peak power of about 15 MW.