Experimental investigation on laser-induced surface damage threshold of Nd-doped phosphate glass

Nd-doped phosphate glass is the dominant amplifier material used in solid state high average power laser systems.Surface imperfection and subsurface damage(SSD)of the glass,resulting from the optical fabrica-tion process,limit the increment of laser system energy output.Thus,it is important to enhance the surface damage threshold of Nd-doped phosphate glass surface.The influence of abrasive size,polishing powder,grinding mode,and chemical treatment on the laser-induced damage threshold(LIDT)of Nd-doped phos-phate glass surface is investigated.Results show that the LIDT is affected little by different polishing powders and grinding modes.The LIDT correlates with the abrasive size,which produced different depths of SSD.A suitable acid etching treatment can remove the imperfection and the SSD for improving the LIDT of Nd-doped phosphate glass surface.The combination of several effective techniques and methods,which are low-cost and practical,should be useful to enhance the LIDT of Nd-doped phosphate glass surface.     

Laser emission under flashlamp pumping of a new crystal: Nd-doped strontium-lanthanum-aluminate (Nd:ASL)

1-x Nd_yLa_x-yMg_xAl_12-xO₁₉) is a new material, tunable in the 1–1.1 μm band. We present the first results of pulsed laser emission of this crystal under flashlamp pumping. We obtain a slope efficiency of 3.3% with a maximum average power of 40 W at 40 Hz in free-lasing regime. Nd:Cr codoping of ASL is also tested, but with much lower efficiency. Received: 12 June 1998/Revised version: 30 September 1998     

Experimental investigation of enhancing the subsurface damage threshold of Nd-doped phosphate glass

Experimental investigation was performed with a 1064-nm, 10-ns Nd:YAG laser to determine the effects of the surface hydrogen acid etching on laser damage, compared with damage of conventionally polished surface. The investigation was helpful for us to understand the negative effects of Nd-doped phosphate glass surface and subsurface damage (SSD) on laser induced damage threshold (LIDT). A set of samples was polished, and then chemically etched in a cool buffered 10%HF 20%H2SO4 solution at different times. Another set of samples was ground and etched in the hot-buffered solution, and then polished. All the samples were irradiated with Nd: YAG laser and characterized by optical microscopy. Results of LIDT were obtained according to International standard ISO/DIS 11254-1.2. Chemical treatment can remove the contaminants in the polished re-deposition layer and the SSD for improving the laser damage resistance of Nd-doped phosphate glass surfaces. The method of using hot solution was more effective than that ofusing cool solution.     

Visible luminescence of the fluoride glass ZBLAN with thulium and ytterbium under IR diode laser pumping

Visible luminescence of thulium in the fluorozirconate glass ZBLAN sensitized with ytterbium is studied experimentally under IR diode laser pumping. Variation of the blue luminescence intensity at a wavelength of 472 nm (the ¹ G ₄ → ³ H ₆ transition) with the pump power and ytterbium concentration is analyzed. The effect of the host-matrix composition on the luminescence characteristics is studied. A strong enhancement of the upconversion efficiency at low temperatures is found.     

Lasing efficiency of ethanol dye solutions under coherent microsecond pumping

It is established that the excitation wavelength plays an important role in the attainment of maximum efficiency and the time dependence of the pump and lasing pulses under coherent microsecond pumping of dye solutions because the losses due to the molecular absorption in the channel of excited triplet levels, thermooptical distortions, and products of photochemical transformations play a minor role in the total energy balance in comparison with the spectrally dependent loss in the channel of excited singlet levels.     

Multi-point side pumping scheme of fiber lasers for high-power diode arrays

A multi-point side pumping scheme of double-clad fiber lasers was presented for high-power diode arrays. It made use of multiple dielectric transmission gratings to realize high coupling efficiency and low pump light leakage ratio simultaneously. Appropriate material and practical structural parameters of the transmission gratings were chosen and designed by using a rigorous Eigen-mode theory combined with a genetic algorithm (GA) and a quasi-Newton method. The GA provided initial parameter values for the quasi-Newton method to get the final optimal results. For TE-polarized pump lights, a perfect transmission grating structure was found for side pumping and the coupling efficiency (CE) of 98% can be achieved. Meanwhile, the CE is 83% for TM-polarized pump lights. And the leakage ratios of the pump lights were only 11.3% and 4.9% for TE- and TM-polarized when a multi-point side pumping scheme was adopted.     

半导体泵浦铷蒸气激光器阈值特性

以速率方程为基础建立理论模型,采用迭代计算方法,对单程端面泵浦铷蒸气激光器的阈值特性进行了详细研究。研究表明,铷室温度和长度对阈值泵浦功率密度的影响具有等价性,存在使阈值功率密度达到最小的最佳铷室长度与温度组合。泵浦光线宽对阈值功率密度的影响基本呈线性;泵浦光线宽越宽,泵浦光中心波长与铷原子吸收波长的偏移量对阈值功率密度的影响越小;存在最佳的铷原子吸收线宽,使阈值功率密度达到最小;为减小阈值功率密度,铷室窗口片应尽量考虑镀膜,谐振腔输出耦合率不宜大于80%。     

半导体泵浦铷蒸气激光器阈值特性

以速率方程为基础建立理论模型,采用迭代计算方法,对单程端面泵浦铷蒸气激光器的阈值特性进行了详细研究。研究表明,铷室温度和长度对阈值泵浦功率密度的影响具有等价性,存在使阈值功率密度达到最小的最佳铷室长度与温度组合。泵浦光线宽对阈值功率密度的影响基本呈线性;泵浦光线宽越宽,泵浦光中心波长与铷原子吸收波长的偏移量对阈值功率密度的影响越小;存在最佳的铷原子吸收线宽,使阈值功率密度达到最小;为减小阈值功率密度,铷室窗口片应尽量考虑镀膜,谐振腔输出耦合率不宜大于80%。     

Laser and self-Raman-laser oscillations of PBMoO4:Nd3+ crystal under laser diode pumping

Different regimes of laser operation and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) for a laser diode (LD)-pumped PbMoO4:Nd3+ crystal have been investigated. Under 1.5 W LD pumping, the output power of the PbMoO4:Nd3+ laser in the free-running mode at 1056 nm reached 0.65 W with a slope efficiency of up to 53%. Using different LiF: F-2 saturable absorbers, we achieved a maximum pulse energy of 11 microJ at a 1.4 ns pulse duration and a maximum output power of 0.35 W (10 microJ) at a 7 ns pulse width in the passively Q-switched mode. PbMoO4:Nd3+ self-Raman-laser operation at 1163 nm (first Stokes) was obtained for the first time, to our knowledge. The self-Raman-laser output pulse energy was measured to be as high as 6 microJ and the pulse duration was estimated to be shorter than 500 ps.     

Temperature distribution in disk active elements of lasers with longitudinal diode pumping

Experimental and computational data for determination of temperature profile in the region of crystalline laser disk pumping are presented. The analytical relations obtained link the values of temperature, pumping spot radius, and disk thickness and allow optimization of these parameters in the choice of laser construction. Good agreement between computational and experimental results is demonstrated on an example of an Nd:YVO₄ crystal disk active element.     

Pulsed and cw laser oscillations in LiF:F-2 color center crystal under laser diode pumping

Continuous-wave laser oscillations in LiF:F-2 crystal optically pumped by a laser diode at 970 nm were demonstrated for what is believed to be the first time. The slope efficiency of 14% and conversion efficiency of 5.5% were achieved for 80 micros pump pulse duration and 5 Hz pulse repetition rate. An efficiency twice as low was measured at a 6.25 kHz pulse repetition rate (50% off-duty factor) and in cw mode of laser operation.     

Diffraction of X-ray spatially inhomogeneous beam in a crystal with cubic nonlinearity

Diffraction of a spatially inhomogeneous X-ray wave was theoretically studied in a crystal with cubic nonlinear response to the strength of an external electric field. Using numerical calculations in case of two-beam diffraction of a narrow incident beam, the intensity distributions on the output surface of the crystal was investigated depending on the thickness and intensity of the incident beam. The results of numerical calculations of integral (spatial) coefficients of transmission and reflection are given as functions of incident wave intensity for fixed thickness of the crystal.     

Efficient 1061 and 1329 nm laser emission of Nd:CNGG lasers under 885 nm diode pumping into the emitting level

We report an efficiency Nd:CNGG laser operating at 1061 and 1329 nm, respectively, direct pumped by a diode laser at 885 nm for the first time to our knowledge. The maximum outputs of 4.5 and 2.9 W, at 1061 and 1329 nm, respectively, are obtained in a 6-mm-thick 0.5 at % Nd:CNGG crystal with 13.5 W of absorbed pump power at 885 nm, leading to a high slope efficiency with respect to the absorbed pump power of 32.2 and 22.1%. Under traditional pumping at 808 nm, the maximum outputs of 3.9 and 2.7 W, at 1061 and 1329 nm, respectively, are obtained with 15.4 W of absorbed pump power, corresponding to the slope efficiency with respect to the absorbed pump power of 25.2 and 17.9%.     

Development and characterization of Yb-Er laser glass for high average power laser diode pumping

A new strong erbium laser glass (SELG) based on a boro-alumo-phosphate composition is reported. We discuss the synthesis and chemical properties together with spectroscopic and thermo-mechanical data. The new glass composition shows excellent laser performance and withstands high-average power pump radiation. We present laser results at 1.54 μm from flashlamp and laser pumping. In tests with laser-diode pumped Q-switched Er-Yb microchip lasers, we have achieved up to 150 mW of average output power and generated 1.2 kW in peak power. Co²⁺:MgAl₂O₄ was here used as the saturable absorber. Received: 21 December 2001 / Revised version: 14 April 2002 / Published online: 8 August 2002     

Tm,Ho:YLF microchip laser under Ti:sapphire and diode pumping

In this paper, we compare the performances of a Tm,Ho:YLF microchip laser when pumped by a Ti:sapphire laser and by a fiber-coupled diode laser. We report the performances obtained for both pumping schemes. Afterwards, we analyse, the reasons for the reduction in efficiency. Using a theoretical model, we conclude that the loss in performance for diode pumping is essentially due to the pump power reflected by the laser cavity when the crystal faces present parasitic reflectivity at the pump wavelength. Received: 19 June 1999 / Revised version: 2 August 1999 / Published online: 30 November 1999     

Determination of IR radiation attenuation in chalcogenide glass fibres by tunable diode lasers

Lead-salt tunable diode lasers were applied to measure IR attenuation in As₂Se₃ chalcogenide glass fibres. The attenuation constant at 10.5 μm is determined from the slope of the IR transmission through a fibre as a function of its length, and the spectral dependence over the 10–13 μm wavelength region is obtained by tuning the laser IR source.     

Experimental characterization of an off-axis scheme for pumping high-power photonic crystal fiber lasers

We experimentally investigate a free-space, off-axis method for pumping high-power photonic crystal fiber (PCF) lasers and amplifiers. The method is based on off-axis injection of the pump beam, exploiting the relatively high numerical aperture of the PCF pump cladding. With this method, we obtain pump coupling efficiency of more than 97 % for incidence angles as high as 30 degrees and show that with more than 60-W pump power the laser efficiency and beam quality do not significantly depend on the incidence angle. Our results indicate that this off-axis pumping method, with its significant advantages over the standard on-axis methods, can be exploited in high-power photonic crystal lasers and amplifiers.     

Lasing emission of dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal microdroplet wrapped by polyglycerol in hollow glass microsphere

In this Letter,a dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal(DDCLC)-filled hollow glass microsphere is demonstrated to be a resonator with good temperature response.A diglycerol layer is used to wrap the DDCLCs microdroplet to keep it steady and control its orientation.The whispering gallery mode(WGM)lasing and photonic band gap(PBG)lasing caused by two different mechanisms were obtained under the pump of a pulsed laser,and the temperature response of these two kinds of lasing was studied.For the liquid crystal and chiral material used in this Letter,both the WGM lasing and the PBG lasing have a blue shift in wavelength with increasing temperature.     

Two-photon pumping of random lasers by picosecond and nanosecond lasers

We experimentally demonstrated two-photon pumping of random lasers using picosecond and nanosecond pump lasers. The picosecond laser pumping experiment was performed with 400 ps laser pulses at 770 nm, and the gain media was a Coumarin 480D dye solution doped with TiO₂ nanoparticles. Onset of laser action was observed at a pump laser pulse energy below 500 μJ. The nanosecond laser pumping experiment was performed with 7 ns laser pulses at 1064 nm, and the gain media was a Rhodamine 640 dye solution doped with TiO₂ nanoparticles. Onset of laser action was observed at a pump laser energy ∼18 mJ. Our results suggest that there exists an optimal pulse duration of the pumping laser in two-photon pumped random lasing that leads to minimum photodamage of the gain media and still keeps a high pumping efficiency. PACS 33.50.Dq; 42.55.Mv; 42.55.Zz