Passively Q-switched 2.9 μm Er:YAP single crystal laser using graphene saturable absorber

A passively Q-switched 2.9 μm Er:yttrium aluminum perovskite (YAP) laser using a monolayer graphene saturable absorber (SA) was demonstrated in this research. Stable pulsed operation was performed with the shortest pulse duration of 460 ns and the highest repetition rate of 114 kHz. This is the first demonstration of a passively Q-switched mid-infrared (mid-IR) Er:YAP pulse modulated by graphene SA. In Q-switched operation, the maximum pulse energy of 5.1 μJ and the highest peak power of 10 W were obtained. To our knowledge, these parameters are the highest values in a graphene Q-switched mid-IR Er:YAP laser.