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.