Glass doped with PbS quantum dots for passive Q switching of a 1.54- microm laser.

By using a PbS-doped phosphate glass as an intracavity saturable absorber, we achieved passive Q switching of a 1.54-microm Er:Yb:glass laser. We obtained Q-switched pulses with 110-ns duration and 0.2-mJ energy. The saturation intensity at 1.54 microm was estimated to be approximately 60 kW/cm(2).