Frequency stabilization of a single-frequency volume Bragg grating-based short-cavity Tm:Ho:YLF laser to a CO2 line at 2.06?μm

This study presents a 2.06???m single-frequency tunable volume Bragg grating (VBG)-based short-cavity Tm:Ho:YLF laser. A mode-hop-free tuning range of 10?GHz at a few hundred mW output power was achieved. The first-derivative spectrum of the CO₂ 20013??00001 R(4) absorption line with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 1,000/Hz^1/2 was obtained using frequency modulation and fluorescence detection. The laser frequency can be stabilized to the CO₂ line with a stability of 3?×?10^?9.     

Influence of a feedback coupling on operating characteristics of a Cr3+:LiSrAlF6 laser using an end-coupled fiber grating

We describe a comparative study related to an influence of a feedback coupling on operating characteristics of a cw Cr³⁺:LiSrAlF₆ (Cr³⁺:LiSAF) laser using an end-coupled fiber grating with different coupling configurations. To achieve a compact construction, a direct butt-coupling of the fiber grating at the pump end of the Cr³⁺:LiSAF laser and pumping through the same fiber was considered. The feedback provided by the coupled fiber grating through an end mirror was responsible for a spectrally narrowed output with a slope efficiency of 11%. However, the performance critically depended on an amount of the feedback coupling. The feedback-coupling condition was improved considerably by using a lens-coupled fiber grating at the pump end of the Cr³⁺:LiSAF crystal. A spectrally narrowed output of ≈0.15 cm^-1 was obtained, and the output slope efficiency was measured as 27%. Theoretical modeling was also performed to understand the effect of the feedback coupling and the results agreed well with the experimental observations. Received: 23 April 1999 / Revised version: 3 August 1999 / Published online: 30 November 1999     

Tunable single-mode pulsed Ti3+:Sapphire laser injection-seeded by a continuous-wave Cr3+:LiSrAlF6 laser

Spectrally pure high-power tunable single-mode operation of a pulsed Ti³⁺:sapphire laser by a tunable injection-seeding is reported. The injection laser was a cw diode laser pumped, spectrally narrowed tunable Cr³⁺:LiSrAlF₆ (Cr³⁺:LiSAF) laser with a grating in the auxiliary cavity. Single-mode tunable operation of a pulsed Ti³⁺: sapphire ring oscillator was obtained at different wavelengths in the range between 818 nm and 848 nm with a typical linewidth of 0.006 cm^-1. To extend the applicability of this operation to a differential absorption lidar system, the single-mode Ti³⁺:sapphire oscillator output was amplified and a high energy output of 38 mJ was obtained with the same linewidth.     

Continuous-wave Ho:GdVO4 laser pumped by Tm-doped fiber laser with a fiber Bragg grating at room temperature

We reported the Ho:GdVO₄ laser pumped by Tm-doped laser with a fiber Bragg grating. 2.03 W continuous-wave Ho:GdVO₄ laser output power is obtained under 10.5 W incident pump power, with the optical-to-optical conversion efficiency and slope efficiency of 19.3% and 32.3%, respectively, at 7 °C. We can see that, the lower the temperature is, the better the laser output character is. The beam quality factor is M² ∼ 1.29 measured by the traveling knife-edge method.     

Single-longitudinal mode, monolithic, green solid-state laser

We present the practical realization of a monolithic single-frequency diode pumped Nd:YVO₄/YVO₄/KTP microchip laser with birefringent filter operating at 532?nm. Theoretical analysis of the single-mode operation of such a laser configuration is presented. Experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical analysis. The laser operated with output power up to 90?mW at 532?nm. The total optical efficiency (808?nm to 532?nm) was 9.5%. Power stability was at the level of ±0.75% and the long-term frequency stability was approximately 3×10^?8. The beam has a Gaussian profile and the M2 parameter was below 1.2.     

Efficient Cr:ZnSe laser with a volume Bragg grating

An efficient and narrow linewidth Cr:ZnSe laser pumped by Tm,Ho:GdVO₄ laser with a volume Bragg grating (VBG) is reported. The Cr:ZnSe laser operated at 2580 nm with emitting linewidth (FWHM) about 0.8 nm. Using the volume Bragg grating, 3.57 W of output was achieved under total incident pump power of 13.1 W, corresponding to optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 27.3%. By use of conventional mirror, 4.11 W of output was achieved the same incident pump power and the optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 31.4%.     

Narrow linewidth 2 μm optical parametric oscillation in periodically poled LiNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript> with volume Bragg grating outcoupler

An optical parametric oscillator using a periodically poled LiNbO₃ crystal and a volume Bragg grating output coupler is presented. Signal and idler wavelengths of 2008 and 2264 nm were generated from the 1064 nm Nd:YVO₄ pump laser. The Bragg grating was reflecting in a narrow band around 2008 nm, creating a purely singly resonant cavity. Signal and idler linewidths of approximately 0.44 and 0.72 nm, respectively, were measured. This is a reduction of 80 and 60 times compared to when using a mirror as output coupler. A total output energy of 156 μJ was measured with 47% slope efficiency. PACS 42.65.Yj; 42.72.Ai; 42.40.Eq     

Acetylene spectra with a tunable diode laser: (ν4 + ν5)0+−ν41fQ branches of 12C2H2 and 12C13CH2

The rotational structure of the Q branches of the (ν₄ + ν₅)⁰⁺?ν₄^1f bands of ¹²C₂H₂ and ¹²C¹³CH₂ at 13.7 μm has been observed in a natural sample of acetylene by using a tunable diode laser as a source in a high-resolution infrared grating spectrometer equipped with a precision grating drive. Altogether 23 lines from J = 6 to 28 for ¹²C₂H₂ and 15 lines from J = 6 to 20 for ¹²C¹³CH₂ have been identified. The observed full width at half maximum of the resolved lines of these Q branches is very close to the calculated Doppler width. Molecular constants ν₀ + B″, B′ ? B″ ? 2D″, D′ ? D″, and H′ ? H″ have been derived from the measured line positions of the rotational structure.     

应用于光刻领域中的固态紫外激光源的制作

以半导体侧泵钇铝石榴石激光器为泵浦源,采用腔内泵浦两块三硼酸铯晶体,产生满足高功率与高光束质量要求的三倍频355 nm紫外激光.通过使用法拉第旋转器谐振腔优化设计与热效应补偿提高输出光的光束质量,并且使用体光栅作为输出镜,在实现线宽窄化同时保持准相位匹配的高效性能.该光刻用紫外激光源成功地替代准分子激光器,使用在一套大面积亚纳米级投影式光刻系统上,工作时紫外光输出功率为4.37 W,光束质量因子为2.27.     

Tunable single and multiwavelength continuous-wave c-cut Nd:YVO4 laser

We report a discretely tunable, single and multiwavelength continuous-wave diode-end-pumped laser with a c-cut Nd:YVO₄ crystal lasing on the ⁴F_3/2?C⁴I_11/2 intermanifold transitions and an intracavity sub-THz free-spectral-range etalon. Experimental results show that it is tunable in the discrete regions of 1066.5?C1066.8, 1083.1?C1084.6, and 1087.2?C1088.2?nm and operates simultaneously at dual-wavelengths of (1084.6, 1087.4), (1066.5, 1088.0), (1066.8, 1083.3) nm by changing the angle of an intracavity etalon with 0.67 THz free-spectral range. With a proper etalon angle, the laser can also simultaneously oscillate at four wavelengths of 1066.9, 1082.9, 1085.7, and 1088.3?nm with a total output power of 1.2?W at an incident diode pump power of 15?W. Similar performance of the laser at different wavelengths was also achieved by using a 0.88?THz free-spectral-range etalon in the same laser cavity.     

Improved performance of complex gain-coupled DFB laser by using tapered grating structure

In this paper, theoretical analysis of antireflection complex gain coupled distributed feedback lasers (CGC-DFB) with tapered grating structure has been presented. Two types of gratings, convex and concave tapered grating with longitudinal variable depth, in active layer have been proposed. Evaluation of flatness parameter variation above threshold condition shows that concave tapered grating improves the stability of CGC-DFB laser against spatial hole burning (SHB) effect. The dependencies of output power, side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) and oscillation wavelength of CGC-DFB laser on convex and concave grating parameters have been studied. Both convex and concave tapered grating CGC-DFB structures have higher output power than conventional CGC-DFB lasers with uniform grating. It is found that, concave tapered grating structure with parameters p ₀?=?15?nm and a ₀?=?0.7 nm has minimum flatness parameter, stable lasing wavelength and flat SMSR profile as a function of current. Theoretical calculation model is based on the numerical solution of coupled wave equations and carrier rate equation by using transfer matrix method. In numerical calculation SHB effect has been assumed.     

The investigation of the laser properties of a new class of the mixed Y x Sc1 ? x VO4:Nd3+ crystals

The investigation of structural perfection and laser properties of a new class of mixed vanadates Y _x Sc_{1 ? x} VO₄:Nd³⁺ was carried out in this work. The research of the structural perfection of the crystals was carried out by applying the X-ray diffractometer. It was shown that the Y _x Sc_{1 ? x} VO₄:Nd³⁺ crystals have a good structural perfection. The lasing experiment shows that the maximal CW output power of 2 W was achieved upon 5.8 W pumping. The maximal slope efficiency of 41.5% was obtained along the [100] crystallographic direction for the ??-polarization.     

Timing-jitter reduced high-repetition-rate Q-switched Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript>/Cr<Superscript>4+</Superscript>:YAG micro laser with low pump power

We report a high repetition rate Q-switched Nd:YVO₄/Cr⁴⁺:YAG micro laser with small pump power. Unwanted defects in pulse train, which are inherently large in passively Q-switched laser, was simply minimized by controlling temperature of Nd:YVO₄/Cr⁴⁺:YAG medium. When T ₀ = 90% Cr⁴⁺:YAG and R _OC = 90% output coupler were used, Q-switched Nd:YVO₄/Cr⁴⁺:YAG micro laser showed the optimum output; maximum output power of 58 mW, optical-to-optical efficiency of 9.1%, repetition rate of 1.1 MHz, and pulse width of 57 ns were achieved with 640 mW pumping. MHz-order repetition rate in Nd:YVO₄/Cr⁴⁺:YAG Q-switched laser with low pumping (<1 W) is the highest value to the best of our knowledge.     

Diode-side-pumped Nd:GGG laser at 1,105?nm and frequency-doubled laser at 552?nm

A high-power diode-side-pumped 1,105?nm Nd:GGG laser and a laser at 552?nm based on intracavity frequency doubling of 1,105?nm laser are demonstrated for the first time. A 26.8-W 1,105?nm laser continuous wave output was achieved under the incident pump power of 170?W. A LiB₃O₅ crystal is used for second harmonic generation of 1,105?nm laser. When the pump power was 170?W, the average output power at 552?nm of 7.3?W was obtained, corresponding to the optical conversion efficiency of 4.3?%. And the minimum pulse width is 181?ns with the pulse repetition rate of 10?kHz. The M ² factors are measured to be 19.8 and 17.6 in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively.     

Nd:YVO₄ amplifier for ultrafast low-power lasers

An Nd:YVO₄ amplifier consisting of two modules end pumped at 808?nm at 30?W total absorbed power has been designed for efficient, diffraction-limited amplification of ultrafast pulses from low-power seeders. We investigated amplification with a 50?mW, 7?ps Nd:YVO₄ oscillator, a 2?mW, 15?ps Yb fiber laser, and a 30?mW, 300?fs Nd:glass laser. Output power as high as 9.5?W with 8?ps pulses was achieved with the 250?MHz vanadate seeder, whereas the 20?MHz fiber laser was amplified to 6?W. The femtosecond seeder allowed extracting Fourier-limited 4?ps pulses at 7?W output power. To our knowledge, these are the shortest pulses from any Nd:YVO₄ laser device with at least 7?W output power. This suggests a novel approach to exploit the gain bandwidth of vanadate amplifiers with high output power levels. Such amplifier technology promises to offer an interesting alternative to high-power thin disk oscillators at few picoseconds duration, as well as to regenerative amplifiers with low-repetition-rate fiber seeders.     

In-band pumping of Nd-vanadate thin-disk lasers

We investigate the output performance of the 1.06 μm ⁴F_3/2→⁴I_11/2 transition in Nd:GdVO₄ and Nd:YVO₄ thin-disk lasers under multi-pass pumping with diode lasers at 0.81 μm and at 0.88 μm, which corresponds to direct in-band pumping of the ⁴F_3/2 emitting level. The use of a pump module with 24 passes through the crystal allowed the realization of an in-band pumped Nd:GdVO₄ thin-disk laser with 14.9 W of continuous wave (cw) output power at 1.06 μm; the overall optical-to-optical efficiency was 0.50 and the slope efficiency with respect to the incident pump power was 0.52. Intracavity frequency-doubling of the Nd:GdVO₄ thin-disk laser with a LiB₃O₅ (LBO) nonlinear crystal yielded 9.1 W of cw output power in the green at 0.53 μm with an overall optical-to-optical efficiency of 0.31.     

Charge states of the activator and size effects in BaF2: Eu nanophosphors

ABSTRACT

According to the spectra of stationary X-ray excited luminescence (XEL) of BaF₂: Eu nanophosphors at 80 and 294 K, it was revealed that the thermal annealing of fine-grained nanoparticles (d?=?35?nm) in the range of 400–1000°C, which is accompanied by an increase of their sizes in the range of 58–120?nm, does not result in effective changes of the charge state of Eu^{3 +} → Eu^{2 +} activator, in contrast to CaF₂: Eu nanoparticles. The maximum light output of X-ray excited luminescence of BaF₂: Eu nanophosphors in the 590?nm emission band of Eu³⁺ ion was observed at an annealing temperature of 600°C with the average size of nanoparticles 67?nm. The subsequent growth of annealing temperatures, especially in the range of 800–1000°C, causes decrease in the light output of X-ray excited luminescence due to the increase of defect concentration in the lattice as a result of sharp increase of nanoparticle sizes and their agglomeration. In BaF₂: Eu nanoparticles of 58?nm size, according to the thermostimulated luminescence (TSL) spectrum, transformation of Eu³⁺ → Eu²⁺ under the influence of long-time X-ray irradiation was revealed for the peak of 151?K. Thus, X-ray excited luminescence spectra of BaF₂: Eu nanophosphors are formed predominantly due to the emission of Eu³⁺ ions, while emission of Eu²⁺ ions is observed in the TSL spectra.     

The charge states’ conversion of the activator ions in CaF2:Eu nanophosphors

According to stationary X-ray-excited luminescence spectra and thermally stimulated luminescence spectra of CaF₂:Eu nanophosphors, it was found that Eu³⁺?→?Eu²⁺ conversion can occur during thermal annealing of fine-grained (d?=?25?nm) nanoparticles in the 200–800°C range, which is accompanied by an increase in their size within 40–189?nm. An important role of the exciton mechanism of Eu²⁺ luminescence excitation was revealed according to the temperature dependence of X-ray-excited luminescence spectra of CaF₂:Eu nanoparticles of 114?nm size. The maximum of the X-ray-excited luminescence light output of CaF₂:Eu nanophosphors in the Eu²⁺ ions’ emission band was traced out at 400–500°C annealing temperature and at the size of nanoparticles of 114–180?nm. The subsequent growth of the annealing temperatures, particularly in the 800–1000°C range, causes the reduction of X-ray-excited luminescence light output because of the increment of lattice defects’ concentration due to a sharp increase in the size of nanoparticles and their agglomeration.     

Diode-pumped laser and self-frequency-doubling properties of a Nd³⁺:Na₃La₉O₃(BO₃)₈ crystal

We report efficient, diode-pumped, self-frequency doubling (SFD) in the newly developed laser crystal Nd³⁺:Na₃La₉O₃(BO₃)₈ (Nd:NLBO). More than 730?mW of fundamental output power at 1072?nm was achieved with a slope efficiency of 16.2%. With incident pump power of 8?W, 29?mW of green cw laser emission at 536?nm was observed with proper phase matching. This initial performance and the good optical properties of the crystalline host are encouraging for the development of a high power diode-pumped SFD visible light laser source.     

Diode-pumped Yb:Y<Subscript>2</Subscript>SiO<Subscript>5</Subscript>-LiB<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> cyan laser at 501.7 nm

We describe the output performances of the 928 nm ⁴ F _3/2 → ⁴ I _9/2 transition in Nd:CLNGG under diode-laser pumping. An end-pumped Nd:CLNGG crystal yielded 1.3 W of continuous-wave output power for 17.8 W of absorbed pump power. The slope efficiency with respect to the absorbed pump power was 11.2%. Furthermore, with 17.8 W of diode pump power and the frequency-doubling crystal LiB₃O₅ (LBO), a maximum output power of 260 mW in the blue spectral range at 464 nm has been achieved. The blue output power stability over 4 h is better than 3.2%.