Pulsed 456 nm deep-blue light generation by acousto-optical Q-switching and intracavity frequency doubling of Nd:GdVO4

We present what is, to the best of our knowledge, the first pulsed deep-blue laser at 456 nm by acousto-optical Q-switching and intracavity frequency doubling of a diode-end-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser on the 4F3/2 → 4I9/2 transition at 912 nm. When the incident pump power is 36 W, the maximum single pulse energy of 44.1 μJ, pulse duration of 140 ns and peak power of 315 W are achieved at 10 kHz; the maximum average power of 770 mW, pulse duration of 200 ns and peak power of 193 W are obtained at 20 kHz. The fluctuation of the blue output power is less than 2.4% within the given 20 min at the maximum blue output power