Q-switching

Q-switching, sometimes known as giant pulse formation or Q-spoiling, is a technique by which a laser can be made to produce a pulsed output beam. The technique allows the production of light pulses with extremely high (gigawatt) peak power, much higher than would be produced by the same laser if it were operating in a continuous wave (constant output) mode. Compared to modelocking, another technique for pulse generation with lasers, Q-switching leads to much lower pulse repetition rates, much higher pulse energies, and much longer pulse durations. The two techniques are sometimes applied together.

Q-switching was first proposed in 1958 by Gordon Gould, and independently discovered and demonstrated in 1961 or 1962 by R.W. Hellwarth and F.J. McClung using electrically switched Kerr cell shutters in a ruby laser.

Principle of Q-switching

Q-switching is achieved by putting some type of variable attenuator inside the laser's optical resonator. When the attenuator is functioning, light which leaves the gain medium does not return, and lasing cannot begin. This attenuation inside the cavity corresponds to a decrease in the Q factor or quality factor of the optical resonator. A high Q factor corresponds to low resonator losses per roundtrip, and vice versa. The variable attenuator is commonly called a "Q-switch", when used for this purpose.