The continuous-wave and acousto-optical Q-switched pulse laser properties of diode-pumped Nd:YAG crystal operating at 946 nm formed with a simple plane-plane cavity have been studied. Extra-cavity single-pass quasi-phase matching (QPM) frequency doubling with periodically poled LiTaO3 (PPLT) as the nonlinear crystal yielded a maximum output power of 66 mW at 473 nm with an overall optical to optical efficiency of 14.2% from 946 to 473 nm. Our result proves that this scheme is of practical value for the construction of a blue all-solid-state laser. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.