Abstract: A miniaturized Q-switch is added to the resonant cavity of a compact laser diode pumped solid state laser to produce short high peak power pulses. Q-switching the compact diode pumped solid state lasers takes advantage of the relatively high gain and short cavity length to provide a desirable combination of pulsewidth and pulse energy. Nd:YAG or Nd:YLF are useful solid state laser materials for Q-switching, or other longer lifetime rare earth ions such as erbium or holmium for greater energy storage. The Q-switch is formed of a material such as TeO.sub.2, SF.sub.10, or LiNbO.sub.3 with an acoustooptic figure of merit substantially greater than fused silica. Pulsewidths of 10-50 ns are achieved at pulse energies of 10-20 microjoules. TEMOO output is easily produced by the compact laser pumped solid state resonator. Applications include materials processing, link blowing in semiconductor memories, marking and scribing, and optical time domain reflectometry.