Neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) crystals are one of the favorite gain media for solidstate lasers owing to their outstanding fluorescence, thermal and mechanical properties. In this material planar and channel waveguides have been realized recently using ion beam irradiation or fs laser inscription [1,2]. Here we report on fabrication of ridge waveguides in a Nd:YAG crystal by using a combination of ion irradiation and precise diamond blade dicing. A slope efficiency of 43% and a maximum output power of 84 mW have been reached, which shows superior lasing performance with respect to the planar waveguide counterpart. © 2013 IEEE.