Passively Q-switched laser based on gold nanobipyramids as saturable absorbers in the 1.3 [formula omitted]m region.

We demonstrate a passively Q-switched solid-state laser operating at the central wavelength of 1342 nm based on gold nanobipyramids (Au-NBPs) as saturable absorber (SA) for the first time. Au-NBPs are fabricated through a seed-mediated growth method, and placed in a simple linear cavity. Under an absorbed diode-pumped power of 5.339 W, an average power of 175 mW was generated with a minimum pulse width of 342 ns and a repetition rate of 141.8 kHz, corresponding to a pulse energy of 1.23 μ J. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]