Upgrading a Benchtop Laser for Megawatt Power
A hobbyist upgraded a benchtop laser by adding a Q-switch to significantly increase its peak power output. The modification reduced the pulse duration from 150 microseconds to 14 nanoseconds, boosting peak power to 1.3 megawatts. Although the higher peak power did not improve metal cutting capabilities, it was sufficient to ionize air and shatter glass.
- ▪A Q-switch is an optical attenuator that limits stimulated emission to allow energy to build up before releasing a short, powerful pulse.
- ▪The addition of a Q-switch reduced the laser pulse length to 14 nanoseconds and increased peak power to 1.3 megawatts.
- ▪Using a Q-switch with 92% absorption resulted in a maximum peak power of 2.25 megawatts.
- ▪The enhanced laser pulses were too short to effectively cut metal but could ionize air and shatter glass.
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| Original publisher | Hackaday |
| Canonical URL | https://hackaday.com/2026/10/04/upgrading-a-benchtop-laser-for-megawatt-power/ |
| Publication time | Mon, 05 Oct 2026 02:00:01 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-10-05T02:02:14.981Z |
| Last seen | 2026-10-05T02:02:14.981Z |
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| Cluster | D9WhlumS5NGC · 1 stories |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Upgrading A Benchtop Laser For Megawatt Power No comments by: Aaron Beckendorf October 4, 2026 Title: Copy Short Link: Copy One fascinating thing about a pulsed laser is that, though the average power may be measured in watts or milliwatts, the peak power can easily reach millions of times that. This happens even in normal operation, but as [Les’ Lab] demonstrated, adding a Q-Switch can considerably enhance the peak power. A Q-switch is an optical attenuator; when placed in the laser cavity, it keeps the cavity from reaching resonance. This greatly limits stimulated emission, allowing energy to build up in the chamber as the gain medium becomes increasingly saturated.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Hackaday.
