Gold nanobipyramid Q-switched Nd:LGGG eye-safe laser operating at 1423.4 nm.

The performance of a laser-diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:LGGG laser at 1423.2 nm with gold nanobipyramids (Au-NBPs) as a saturable absorber was demonstrated. An average output power of 125 mW was obtained at a pump power of 12.2 W, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 1.36% and a slope efficiency of 1.78%. A minimum pulse width of 514 ns at a pulse repetition rate of 98.6 kHz was obtained at a pump power of 12.2 W. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report focusing on the application of Au-NBPs as a saturable absorber for pulse laser operation in the eye-safe region.