Tunable Yb:KGW laser, CW or Q-switched, enabled by dual-axis tilt of a MOEMS mirror: KGW laser, CW or Q-switched, enabled by dual-axis tilt of a MOEMS mirror

The experimental proof-of-concept demonstration of an end-pumped Yb:KGW laser with tunable spectral and temporal output characteristics is reported. For the first time, tuning of both of these characteristics in a solid-state laser is achieved simultaneously using a single electrothermally-actuated MOEMS micromirror with controllable tilt angle in two dimensions. In continuous-wave mode, a wavelength tuning range of 22 nm with < 0.3 nm linewidth was achieved by using static MOEMS mirror tilt about one axis to select the intracavity wavelength dispersed by a prism. A wavelength tuning range of 15.3 nm with < 1.1 nm linewidth was achieved in Q-switched operation, by using simultaneous static tilt and resonant scanning of the MOEMS mirror about orthogonal axes. In this operational mode, a pulse repetition rate of 2.06 kHz was obtained with pulse durations varying from 460 ns to 740 ns over the addressable range of laser wavelengths.