A compact efficient continuous-wave self-frequency Raman laser with a composite YVO4/Nd:YVO4/YVO4 crystal

We report a low-threshold continuous-wave self-Raman laser with a composite YVO₄/Nd:YVO₄/YVO₄ crystal. The use of the composite crystal can reduce the thermal effects and achieve the low-threshold and high Raman output operation. The Raman threshold is as low as 2.2 W for the 808-nm diode pump. Under the pump of a diode power of 25.5 W, the highest Raman output of 2.8 W is obtained at 1175 nm, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 12% and a diode-to-Stokes optical conversion efficiency of 11%. The power fluctuation is less than 1.1% under the highest Raman output.     

Eye-safe Raman laser at 1532 nm with BaWO<Subscript>4</Subscript> crystal

A diode-end-pumped actively Q-switched eye-safe intracavity Raman laser at 1532 nm is demonstrated, with Nd:YVO₄ as the laser crystal and BaWO₄ as the Raman crystal. The highest average power of 1.5 W is obtained, with an incident pump of 12 W and a pulse repetition rate of 35 kHz, corresponding to a diode-to-Stokes conversion efficiency of 12.5%.     

LD-pumped Q-switched Nd:YVO4 self-Raman laser

LD-pumped actively Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ self-Raman laser is presented. The maximum average output power of the self-Raman laser at 1173.6 nm was obtained to be 2.21 W at the incident pump power of 18 W and the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 30 kHz, with the corresponding optical conversion efficiency of 12.28%.     

Second-Stokes YVO4/Nd:YVO4/YVO4 self-frequency Raman laser

We demonstrated an efficient second-Stokes Raman laser emission at 1313 nm based on self-frequency stimulated Raman scattering from a diode-end-pumped actively Q-switched YVO(4)/Nd:YVO(4)/YVO(4) laser at 1064 nm for the first time, to the authors' knowledge. A double-end diffusion-bonded Nd:YVO(4) composite crystal was adopted for sufficiently improving the thermal lensing effect in the course of self-frequency stimulated Raman scattering operation. With an incident pump power of 14.6 W and a pulse repetition (PRR) of 40 kHz, a maximum average output power of 2.34 W was obtained, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 16%. Pulse width and peak power were 1.2 ns and 49 kW, respectively.     

Co2+:LMA crystal as saturable absorber for a diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser at 1342 nm

We have demonstrated an efficient diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser at 1342 nm by using an uncoated Co²⁺:LaMgAl₁₁O₁₉ (Co²⁺:LMA) crystal as the saturable absorber. With the absorbed pump power of 11.7 W, the pulse width could be as low as 42 ns, with a corresponding average output power of 580 mW. At around 40 kHz repetition rate, the energy of a single Q-switched pulse was estimated to be about 14.5 μJ and the peak power was 346 W. The passive Q switching operation for the Co²⁺:LMA in different polarization states was also investigated. PACS 42.55.-f; 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Gd; 42.70.Mp     

Theoretical and experimental study of single mode-locking pulse generation with low repetition rate in a dual-loss-modulated QML YVO4/Nd:YVO4 laser with EO and GaAs

Using electro-optic (EO) modulator and GaAs saturable absorber, a diode-pumped doubly Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) YVO₄/Nd:YVO₄ laser at 1.06 μm is realized. The experimental results show that the number of the mode-locking pulses underneath the Q-switched envelope decreased with increasing pump power. With an output coupling of 6.5 %, the single mode-locking pulse underneath the Q-switched envelope with 1 kHz repetition rate was obtained when the pump power exceeded 4.65 W. At a pump power of 8.25 W for an output coupling of 10 %, a stable mode-locking pulse train at a repetition rate of 1 kHz was achieved with pulse energy as high as 582 μJ and pulse duration of about 580 ps, corresponding to a peak power of 1 MW. Using a hyperbolic secant square function and considering the Gaussian distribution of the intracavity photon density, the coupled rate equations for diode-pumped doubly QML YVO₄/Nd:YVO₄ laser are given and the numerical solutions of the equations are basically in accordance with the experimental results.     

Diode-pumped doubly Q-switched YVO4/Nd:YVO4 laser with BBO electric-optic Q-switch and Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber

In the experiment, we have demonstrated the performance of a laser-diode, end-pumped, doubly Q-switched YVO₄/Nd:YVO₄ laser with both a BBO electric-optic (EO) Q-switch and Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber. At a maximum incident pump power of 15 W and an EO Q-switch repetition rate of 8 kHz, the stable laser pulses with the pulse duration 5.28 ns, the single pulse energy 0.14 mJ, and the pulse peak power 26 kW are obtained. The experimental results show that the double Q-switched laser with EO and Cr⁴⁺:YAG can generate the shorter pulse and the higher peak power in comparison to singly Q-switched laser with EO.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YAG/SrWO4 intracavity Raman laser with high pulse energy and average output power

A diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YAG/SrWO₄ intracavity Raman laser is presented. As high as 1.78?W average power is obtained at an incident pump power of 14.9?W with a pulse repetition frequency of 21.2?kHz. The highest pulse energy is 88.1???J obtained at a pump power of 13.7?W. The obtained pulse energy and average power are much higher than those of the previously reported diode-pumped passively Q-switched intracavity Raman lasers.     

Eye-safe Raman laser at 1532 nm with BaWO<Subscript>4</Subscript> crystal under direct 880 nm pumping

A highly efficient 880 nm laser diode pumped actively Q-switched Nd:YVO₄/BaWO₄ eye-safe Raman laser is demonstrated. With an absorbed pump power of 10.9 W, 1.7 W of average output power at the Stokes wave-length is generated at a PRF of 40 kHz, corresponding to a diode-to-Stokes conversion efficiency of 15.6%.     

LD-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO/LBO red laser with V:YAG

An LD-pumped Nd:YVO₄ passively Q-switched by V:YAG and intracavity frequency doubled by LBO red pulse laser at 671 nm was presented. With 1.6 W incident pump power, average output power of 53 mW, pulse duration (FWHM) of 29.5 ns, pulse repetition rate of 37.2 kHz, peak power of 48.3 W and single-pulse energy of 1.43 μJ were obtained. The stability of pulse energy and repetition rate was better than 3% for 4 h.     

Compact efficient self-frequency Raman conversion in diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser

I report the first demonstration of the generation of efficient sub-nanosecond self-stimulated Raman pulses by a diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO₄/Cr⁴⁺:YAG laser. The conversion efficiency for the average power is 7% from pump diode input to self-Raman output and the slope efficiency is up to 14%. At an incident pump power of 2.0 W, the pulse duration, pulse energy, and peak power for the Stokes wavelength of 1175.6 nm were found to be 750 ps, 6.3 J, and 8.4 kW, respectively, with a pulse-repetition rate of 22 kHz. PACS 42.55.Ye; 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Gd     

Intracavity optical parametric oscillator pumped by an actively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

A non-critically phase-matched KTiOPO₄ optical parametric oscillator (OPO) intracavity pumped by a laser diode end-pumped acousto-optically Q-switchedNd:YAG laser is experimentally demonstrated. The highest average power is obtained at the pulse repetition rate (PRR) of around 15 kHz, which is different from the widely reported Nd:YVO₄ laser pumped OPO in which the highest average power is obtained at a very high PRR, e.g. 80 kHz. With an incident laser diode power of 6.93 W and a pulse repetition rate of 15 kHz, an average signal power of 0.72 W is obtained with a peak power of 7.7 kW and an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 10.4%. PACS 42.65.Yj; 42.60.Gd; 42.55.Xi     

High-repetition-rate Nd:YVO4 slab laser with a 1-D top-hat output beam

A high-repetition-rate electro-optic Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ slab laser is demonstrated in this paper. The Nd:YVO₄ slab inside the compact resonator is end-pumped by a 2-bar laser diode stack. The output beam with one dimension (1-D) top-hat intensity distribution at both near field and far field is generated. Continuous wave (CW) output of 13 5 W is obtained under the total pump power of 50 W. At the repetition rate of 40 kHz, the energy per pulse is 0.32 mJ with its pulse width of 26.3 ns. At 20 kHz, we have achieved the maximum pulse energy of 0.56 mJ and 56 kW peak power with 10 ns pulse width.     

High-efficiency eye-safe intracavity Raman laser at 1531 nm with SrWO4 crystal

A high-efficiency diode-end-pumped Q-switched eye-safe linearly-polarized intracavity Raman laser at 1531 nm is demonstrated, with Nd:YVO₄ as the laser medium and SrWO₄ as the Raman crystal. The highest average power of 1.93 W is achieved, with an incident pump of 15.6 W and a repetition rate of 35 kHz. The narrowest pulse duration of 4.9 ns and the highest peak power of 32.2 kW are obtained at a repetition rate of 5 kHz.     

Passively Q-switched <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis>-cut Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> self-Raman laser

A passively Q-switched a-cut Nd:YVO₄ self-stimulating Raman laser using a Cr:YAG saturable absorber has been demonstrated for the first time. The maximum average output power of the self-Raman laser at 1176 nm is 347 mW at the incident pump power of 10 W with a pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 66 kHz. The pulse width, pulse energy of the 1176 nm are found to be 10 ns and 5.6 μJ. The conversion efficiency from diode laser input power to Raman output power is 3.47%.     

Laser performance of grown-together YVO4/Nd:YVO4 composite crystal at continuous-wave 914 nm

We demonstrated a diode-end-pumped continuous-wave 914 nm laser using a novel grown-together YVO₄/Nd:YVO₄ crystal for the first time. A maximum output power at 914 nm of 7.5 W with an optical-optical efficiency of 16.3% and a slope efficiency of 24.3% was obtained when the incident pump power was 46.2 W. The beam quality factor M ² was 3.2 at the output power of 6.0 W. The quality and specification of the grown-together composite YVO₄/Nd:YVO₄ crystal should be improved. Meanwhile, energy-transfer upconversion spectrum of the composite YVO₄/Nd:YVO₄ crystal laser was also investigated.     

A KTiOAsO4 Raman laser

Efficient nanosecond stimulated Raman scattering is observed in KTiOAsO₄ within an intracavity Raman laser configuration. A diode-end-pumped acousto-optically Q-switched Nd:YAG laser emitting at 1064.2 nm is employed as the pumping source. And efficient generation of the first-Stokes line at 1091.5 nm is observed. With an incident diode power of 8.11 W, a first-Stokes power of 1.38 W is obtained at a pulse repetition rate of 25 kHz, corresponding to a diode-to-Stokes conversion efficiency of 17%. The pulse width is 6.5 ns and the peak power is 8.5 kW. The performance characteristics of the device demonstrate that KTiOAsO₄ is competent and reliable for nanosecond Raman lasers.     

Compact efficient diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 Q-switched blue laser with intracavity frequency tripling

We demonstrate a compact efficient diode-pumped acousto-optically Q-switched intracavity-frequency-tripled Nd:YVO₄ blue laser. The optimum polarization state is experimentally investigated to optimize the output performance. Greater than 280 mW of 447-nm average power at a repetition rate of 25 kHz was generated with a 15-W diode pump power. At 25 kHz, the pulse width is shorter than 15 ns and the peak power is higher than 800 W.     

LD-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 infrared and green lasers

A laser diode directly end-pumped, passively Q-switched Nd:YVO₄/Cr:YAG laser is presented in this paper. With 600 mW incident pump laser, Q-switched 1064 nm laser with an average power of 138 mW, pulse width of 19.8 ns, repetition rate of 170.1 kHz and peak power of 40.96 W is obtained. When a KTP crystal was inserted into the cavity, Q-switched 532 nm laser with an average power of 56 mW, pulse width of 28.4 ns, repetition rate of 118.2 kHz and peak power of 16.7 W is obtained at last.     

Eye-safe Raman laser based on BaTeMo2O9 crystal

An eye-safe Raman laser is realized with BaTeMo₂O₉ (BTM) nonlinear crystal for the first time. By using a diode-end-pumped acousto-optically Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser as the pumping source, the BTM crystal converts the fundamental laser at 1,342 nm to first-Stokes laser at 1,531 nm successfully. With an incident power of 10.8 W and a pulse repetition rate of 25 kHz, the average output power at 1,531 nm is obtained to be 0.83 W, corresponding to a diode-to-Stokes conversion efficiency of 7.7 %. The pulse width is 11 ns, and the peak power is 3.0 kW.