High-energy directly diode-pumped Q-switched 1617 nm Er:YAG laser at room temperature

We describe high-energy Erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) lasers operating at 1617?nm, resonantly pumped using 1532?nm fiber-coupled laser diodes. A maximum continuous wave output power of 4.3?W at 1617?nm was achieved with an output coupler of 20% transmission under incident pump power of 29.7?W, resulting in an optical conversion of 14% with respect to the incident pump power. In Q-switched operation, the pulse energy of 11.8?mJ at 100?Hz pulse repetition frequency and 81?ns pulse duration was obtained. This energy is the highest pulse energy reported for a directly diode-pumped Q-switched Er:YAG laser operating at 1617?nm.     

1645 nm Q-Switched resonantly pumped Er:YAG laser

A resonantly pumped Q-switched Er:YAG laser at 1645 nm was reported. 1 mJ of output pulse energy was achieved for Q-switched operation at 100 Hz repetition rate under total incident pump power of 4 W. An output peak power of 14 kW and pulse width of 60.6 ns were obtained.     

High-Power Continuous-Wave and Acousto-Optical Q-Switched Ho:(Sc_(0.5)Y_(0.5))_2SiO_5 Laser Pumped by Laser Diode

We experimentally investigate the continuous-wave(cw)and acousto-optical(AO)Q-switched performance of a diode-pumped Ho:(Sc_(0.5)Y_(0.5))_2SiO_5(Ho:SYSO)laser.A fiber-coupled laser diode at 1.91m is employed as the pump source.The cw Ho:SYSO laser produces 13.0 W output power at 2097.9 nm and 56.0%slope efficiency with respect to the absorbed pump power.In the AO Q-switched regime,at a pulse repetition frequency of 5 kHz,the Ho:SYSO laser yields 2.1 mJ pulse energy and 21 ns pulse width,resulting in a calculated peak power of 100 k W.In addition,at the maximum output level,the beam quality factor of the Q-switched Ho:SYSO laser is measured to be about 1.6.     

Efficient Ho:YAP laser dual-end-pumped by Tm fiber laser

We report the continuous wave and acousto-optically Q-switched operation of an in-band dual-end-pumped Ho:YAP laser at room temperature. A continuous wave output power of 11.0W at 2118 nm was obtained at an absorbed pump power of 19.8 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 62.1%. For the Q-switched mode, a maximum pulse energy of about 1.07 mJ and a minimum pulse width of 29 ns at a repetition rate of 10 kHz were achieved, resulting in a peak power of 36.9 kW.     

Broad-band regenerative laser amplification in ytterbium-doped calcium fluoride (Yb:CaF<Subscript>2</Subscript>)

An output pulse energy of 17.3 mJ has been achieved with a diode-pumped Yb:CaF₂ regenerative laser amplifier. The bandwidth of the output pulse spectrum was 7.3 nm, being seeded with femtosecond pulses stretched to 2.2 ns. In cw operation a tuning range of 80 nm has been observed. A maximum pulse energy of 44 mJ at a repetition rate of 1 Hz has been obtained in Q-switched mode. The laser damage threshold of a Yb:CaF₂ crystal has been determined at a wavelength of 1064 nm and a pulse duration of 10 ns. PACS 42.55.Ah; 42.55.Xi; 42.70.Hj     

Room-temperature cw and pulsed operation of a diode-end-pumped Tm:YAP laser

We report the continuous-wave and acousto-optical Q-switched operation of a diode-end-pumped Tm:YAP laser. Continuous-wave output power of 3.5 W at 1.99 μm was obtained under the absorbed pump power of 14 W. Under Q-switched laser operation, the average output power increased from 1.57 W to 2.0 W, with an absorbed pump power of 12.6 W, as the repetition rate increased from 1 kHz to 10 kHz. The maximum Q-switched pulse energy was 1.57 mJ with a repetition rate of 1 kHz. The minimum pulse width was measured to be about 80 ns, corresponding to a peak power of 19.6 kW. PACS 42.55.Rz; 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Gd     

Passively Q-Switched Ho:SSO Laser by Use of a Cr~(2+):ZnSe Saturable Absorber

A cw operation and a passively Q-switched(PQS) Ho:SSO laser(Cr~(2+):ZnSe as a saturable absorber) end-pumped by a Tm:YAP laser operating at near room temperature are reported. It is the first time to report a PQS Ho:SSO laser. For the cw mode, a maximum cw output power of 3.0 W is obtained, corresponding to a slope effciency of31.4%. For the PQS mode, a Cr~(2+):ZnSe is used as the saturable absorber, with transmission of 88.4% at 2112 nm.A maximum pulse energy of 1.29 mJ is obtained, corresponding to the pulse repetition frequency of 2.42 kHz. In this study, we change the distance between:Cr~(2+):ZnSe and the output mirror to research the pulse characteristic of the PQS Ho:SSO laser. The minimum pulse width of 73.5 ns is obtained, corresponding to the pulse energy of0.9 mJ and the pulse repetition frequency of 2.65 kHz.     

Passively Q-switched microchip Er, Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 diode-pumped laser

We report, for the first time to our knowledge, a diode-pumped cw and passively Q-switched microchip Er, Yb:YAl(3)(BO(3))(4) laser. A maximal output power of 800 mW at 1602 nm in the cw regime was obtained at an absorbed pump power of 7.7 W. By using Co(2+):MgAl(2)O(4) as a saturable absorber, a TEM(00)-mode Q-switched average output power of 315 mW was demonstrated at 1522 nm, with pulse duration of 5 ns and pulse energy of 5.25 μJ at a repetition rate of 60 kHz.     

Compact and efficient diode-pumped actively Q-switched 1319 nm Nd:YAG ceramic laser

An efficient compact diode-pumped acousto-optic actively Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser operating at 1319 nm was demonstrated. At an incident pump power of 23.7 W, an average output power of 4.8 W at a pulse repetition frequency of 30 kHz was obtained. The corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency was 20.3%. A maximum single pulse energy of 316 μJ with a pulse duration of 78.5 ns was obtained at an incident pump power of 19.4 W and a pulse repetition frequency of 10 kHz.     

High repetition rate, tunable, Q-switched diode pumped Tm:YLF laser

The aim of work was to characterize a simple oscillator consisted of Tm:YLF crystal end-pumped by a fiber coupled diode laser and active Q-switch with tunability option. About 7 W with near 35% slope efficiency was demonstrated in a free-running mode. The divergence angle was about 4.3 mrad and estimated parameter M² < 1.3. Continuous tuning by means of Lyot’s filter, consisted of 2 quartz plates in the range of 1879.0–1939.4 nm with less than 1-nm linewidth, was achieved. For the best case (10-ms pump pulse duration, 42-A pump current corresponding to 266 mJ of pump energy), the Q-switched energy was 10.5 mJ with pulse duration of 22 ns corresponding to near 0.5 MW peak power. The 2.5 W of average power with 12.6-kW peak power and 2000-Hz repetition rate was demonstrated for cw pumping regime.     

Directly diode-pumped high-energy Ho:YAG oscillator

We report on the high-energy laser operation of an Ho:YAG oscillator resonantly pumped by a GaSb-based laser diode stack at 1.9 μm. The output energy was extracted from a compact plano-concave acousto-optically Q-switched resonator optimized for low repetition rates. Operating at 100 Hz, pulse energies exceeding 30 mJ at a wavelength of 2.09 μm were obtained. The corresponding pulse duration at the highest pump power was 100 ns, leading to a maximum peak power above 300 kW. Different pulse repetition rates and output coupling transmissions of the Ho:YAG resonator were studied. In addition, intracavity laser-induced damage threshold measurements are discussed.     

LD侧面泵浦电光调Q532nm脉冲激光器

 为了实现高可靠、窄脉宽、高峰值功率激光输出,采用侧面泵浦技术和电光调Q技术,设计出一种激光二极管侧面泵浦电光调Q全固态绿光激光器。采用结构简单、紧凑的平-平腔设计,其端镜和输出镜均为平面镜,获得较稳定的侧面泵浦Nd∶YAG腔外倍频KTP脉冲绿光激光输出。当泵浦电流为120A,重复频率为600Hz时,获得脉冲绿光的最高输出平均功率为3.62W,1064nm到532nm的转换效率为15.3%,其脉宽为21ns,峰值功率为300kW, 单脉冲能量为6.01mJ。实验结果表明：该激光器稳定性可靠,输出激光脉宽较窄、峰值功率高。     

Continuous-wave and Q-switched laser operation of Nd:Gd0.18Y0.82VO4 mixed crystal

Efficient continuous-wave (cw), passively Q-switched, and actively Q-switched laser operations are demonstrated with a mixed vanadate crystal of Nd:Gd_0.18Y_0.82VO₄ under diode pumping. In a cw operation, an output power of 8.25 W is obtained at a maximum available incident pump power (P_in) of 15 W, with a slope efficiency of 56%. Using a Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal of initial transmission of 62% as the saturable absorber for Q-switching, an average output power of 3.05 W is generated at pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 16.7 kHz when the laser is pumped with the same maximum P_in. The pulse energy, pulse duration, and peak power are 183.3 μJ, 6.0 ns, and 30.6 kW, respectively. When actively Q-switched by an acousto-optic modulator, the laser produces an average output power of 5.5 W at PRF of 30 kHz with 16.2 W of pump power incident upon the laser crystal. The pulse energy, duration, and peak power are measured to be 183 μJ, 10.5 ns, and 17.5 kW, respectively.     

AlGaInAs半导体饱和吸收体调Q特性的理论与实验研究究

利用通过金属化学气相沉积法长成的AlGaInAs饱和吸收体,对808 nm LD泵浦的Nd:YVO₄键合晶体进行被动调Q,获得了波长为1.06 mm的激光脉冲,测量了脉冲能量、脉冲宽度、脉冲重复率随泵浦功率的变化。当泵浦功率为10.57 W时,激光平均输出功率为3.45 W,斜效率为39 %,重复频率达到最大值101 kHz。当泵浦功率为8.07 W时,脉冲宽度达到最小值1.76 ns。利用速率方程对该激光器进行理论分析,计算出输出脉冲能量、峰值功率、脉冲宽度和重复频率的理论值,实验结果和理论结果基本一致。     

基于金纳米笼的1106 nm被动调Q Nd:GAGG激光器

成功制备了金纳米笼溶液并将其作为饱和吸收体,实现了中心波长为1106 nm的Nd:GAGG激光器的调Q运转。在输出镜透过率为3%的激光器中,在泵浦功率6.70 W下获得的最大平均输出功率为98 mW,此时对应的脉冲重复率为206 kHz,最短脉冲宽度为436 ns;在输出镜透过率为7%的激光器中,当泵浦功率为7.69 W时,得到的最大平均输出功率为121 mW,最短脉冲宽度为370 ns,对应的脉冲重复率为170 kHz。实验结果证明了金纳米笼在近红外波段激光器中用作饱和吸收体的巨大潜力。     

Performance of actively Q-switched Nd:LiLuF<Subscript>4</Subscript> crystal end-pumped by a 792 nm laser diode

An efficient laser diode end-pumped continuous-wave (CW) and AO Q-switched laser of Nd:LiLuF₄ crystal with dual central wavelengths of 1053.1 and 1054.7 nm is reported for the first time. The maximum CW output power of 6.22 W was obtained at absorbed pump power of ∼14.6 W with the output transmission of 2%. The optical conversion efficiency is ∼43%, corresponding to a slope efficiency of about 48% with respect to the absorbed pump. For the Q-switched operation, the shortest pulse width of 17 ns was obtained at the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 0.5 kHz, resulting in a pulse energy of 2.24 mJ and peak power of 131.8 kW.     

Generation of high power laser at 1314 nm from a diode-side-pumped Nd:YLF module

We demonstrate a high power continuous-wave （CW） and acoustic-optically （AO） Q-switched 1314-nm laser with a diode-side-pumped Nd：YLF module. A maximum CW output power of 21.6 W is obtained with a diode pump power of 180 W, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 12.0% and a slope efficiency of 16.1%. In the Q-switching operation, a highest pulse energy of 3.8 mJ is obtained at a pulse repetition rate of 1 kHz. The shortest pulse width and maximum single peak power are 101.9 ns and 37.3 kW, respectively.     

Continuous-wave and Q-switched Operation of a Tm,Ho:YAP ring laser

We demonstrated continuous-wave (CW) and Q-switched operation of a Tm,Ho:YAP ring laser at 77 K. The maximum CW output power of 2 W at 2130.7 nm was obtained under the incident pump power of 12 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 23% and an optical-to-optical efficiency of 16.7%. For the Q-switched regime the maximum output energy of 5 mJ with the pulse width of 160 ns at the repetition rate of 100 Hz was achieved, corresponding to a peak power of 31.25 kW.     

Room temperature efficient continuous wave and Q-switched operation of a Ho:YAP laser

We report the continuous wave and acousto-optically Q-switched operation of a Tm:YLF-pumped Ho:YAP laser at room temperature. Continuous wave output power of 6.8 W at 2118 nm was obtained under the incident pump power of 13.4 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 65.6% and a conversion efficiency of 50.7%. For the Q-switched mode, a maximum pulse energy of 1.28 mJ and a minimum pulse width of 31 ns at the repetition rate of 5 kHz were achieved, resulting in a peak power of 41.3 kW. In addition, the Ho:YAP laser was employed as a pumping source of ZGP optical parametric oscillator, the total average output power of which was 3.2 W at 4.08 and 4.41 μm with a slope efficiency of 69.5%, corresponding to the diode-to-mid-IR conversion efficiency of 9.0%.     

Highly efficient in-band pumped Er:YAG laser with 60 W of output at 1645 nm

A high-power Er:YAG laser that is in-band pumped by a high-power cladding-pumped erbium-ytterbium codoped fiber laser operating at 1532 nm is reported. The Er:YAG laser produced 60.3 W of continuous-wave output at 1645.3 nm in a beam with M2 approximately equal to 3 for 82 W of incident pump power and 20 W of TEM00 output with M2 < 1.2 for 32.4 W of incident pump power. The slope efficiency with respect to incident pump power at pump powers of >20 W was approximately 81%. In the Q-switched mode of operation, a slightly modified resonator configuration incorporating an electro-optic Q switch produced pulses of approximately 4 mJ energy and approximately 100 ns (FWHM) duration, corresponding to a peak power of approximately 42 kW at a repetition rate of 1 kHz for an incident pump power of 16.8 W. The prospects for further improvement in continuous-wave and Q-switched performance are discussed.