Abstract

A passive Q-switching using nonlinear absorber is relatively simple but asymmetric with a short rise time and a long decay time.¹ To control the pulse duration and overcome asymmetry in a passive Q-switching, the forced turning-off mechanism of a passively Q-switched pulse is proposed and realized by restoring saturable loss of a passive Q-switcher with a dual-cavity configuration (DCC). The DCC consists of a main cavity (M1 and M3) and an auxiliary cavity (M1 and M2) presented in the Fig. 1. As a result of the turning-off, a long tail part of an output pulse is cut out and a pulse duration is shortened (see the Fig. 2).

© 1995 IEEE