Self-Q-switched and mode-locked Nd,Cr:YAG laser with 6.52-W average output power

Simultaneous self-Q-switched and mode-locked have been demonstrated in a diode-pumped Nd,Cr:YAG laser. For the first time as we know, almost 100% modulation depth has been achieved at an intracavity intensity of 5.6 × 10⁵ W/cm². The maximum average output power of 6.52 W corresponding to a slope efficiency of 30% is obtained at 1064 nm. The laser produces high-quality pulses in a TEM₀₀-mode at the pump power of 16.5 W. The pulse duration of the mode-locked pulses is about 600 ps with 136 MHz repetition rate.     

Diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser using reflective pump optics

We have examined the performance of a diode-laser side-pumped Nd:YAG laser using elliptical mirrors to focus the output of 6 × 10 W laser-diode arrays into the Nd: YAG rod. The multimode cw output power was 14 W with an optical to optical efficiency of 29%. With a resonator designed for TEM₀₀ mode operation 12 W of output was achieved.     

High power continuous-wave diode-laser-pumped Nd:YAG laser

We report on a diode-laser-pumped cw Nd: YAG laser operating at a power level of 150 W. By using a transverse pump geometry, the radiation of 54 diode lasers with an output power of 10 W each is coupled into a Nd:YAG rod. In multimode operation, an optical slope efficiency of 32% and an optical to optical efficiency of 29% are obtained. In TEM₀₀ operation, an output power of more than 30 W is realized with an optical to optical efficiency of 10%.     

Self-Q-switched and mode-locked 946 nm Cr,Nd:YAG laser

A simultaneous self-Q-switched and mode-locked diode-pumped 946 nm laser by using a Cr,Nd:YAG crystal as gain medium as well as saturable absorber is demonstrated for the first time as we know. The maximum average output power of 751 mW with a slope efficiency of 18.38% is obtained at an intra-cavity average peak power intensity of 4.83 × 10⁶ W/cm². Under this circumstance, the repetition rate of Q-switched envelopes is 9.63 kHz and the pulse width is about 460 ns. Almost 100% mode-locked modulation depth is obtained at all time in the experiment process whether the incident pump power is low or high. The repetition rate of mode-locked pulses within a Q-switched envelope is 135.13 MHz and the mode-locked pulse width is within 600 ps. The laser produces high-quality pulses in TEM₀₀-mode in the simultaneous self-Q-switched and mode-locked experiment.     

Ultrahigh-efficiency TEM<Subscript>00</Subscript> diode-side-pumped Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser

Ultrahigh-efficiency TEM₀₀ operation is demonstrated in a diode-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser in a bounce amplifier geometry using a specially designed astigmatically optimised cavity configuration. Optical efficiency >68% is demonstrated and up to 27.1 W of output power for multimode operation. For single-mode TEM₀₀ operation, an output power of 23.1 W for 39.5 W of diode pumping was produced with beam propagation parameters of M_x ²=1.3 and M_y ²=1.1. Received: 10 October 2002 / Revised version: 9 December 2002 / Published online: 19 March 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +44-20/7594-7744, E-mail: a.minassian@ic.ac.uk     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:LuVO4 laser at 916 nm

We demonstrate a passively Q-switched Nd:LuVO₄ laser at 916 nm by using a Nd, Cr:YAG crystal as the saturable absorber. As we know, it is the first time to realize the laser with a simple linear resonator. When the incident pump power increased from 14.6 W to 23.7 W, the pulse width of the Q-switched laser decreased from 24 ns to 21 ns. The pulse width was insensitive to the incident pump power in the experiment. The average output power of 288 mW with repetition rate of 39 kHz was obtained at an incident pump power of 22.5 W, with the optical-to-optical efficiency and slope efficiency 1.3% and 3.6%, respectively.     

43 W picosecond laser and second-harmonic generation experiment

Combining the advantages of diode-end-pumped Nd: YVO₄ and diode-side-pumped Nd: YAG amplifiers, a high average power and high beam quality picosecond laser is designed. The system delivers a picosecond laser with average power of 43.4 W and good beam quality of M² < 1.7. By focusing the high power picosecond laser in LBO crystal, 532 nm green laser with maximal power of 20.8 W is generated and the conversion efficiency of second-harmonic generation reaches 56.4% when 17.7 W green laser obtained from the fundamental frequency laser with power of 31.4 W and beam quality of M² < 1.25.     

Picosecond laser amplification system with 93 W high average power

A high average power picosecond laser amplification system with diode-end-pumped Nd:YVO₄ and diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG is described. Laser with power up to 92.7 W, repetition frequency of 73.3 MHz, pulse duration of 26.5 ps, and beam quality of M² < 3.5 is generated in the amplification system. Thermal-birefringence-induced depolarization in the Nd:YAG rod laser head amplifier is measured to be 21.9 W though birefringence compensation is performed.     

Simultaneous dual-wavelength laser operation at 1342 and 946 nm in two laser crystals and their sum-frequency mixing

A sum-frequency yellow-green laser at 554.9 nm is reported by this paper, 946 nm wavelength is obtained from ⁴F_3/2-⁴I_9/2 transition in Nd:YAG and 1342 nm wavelength is obtained from ⁴F_3/2-⁴I_13/2 transition in Nd:YVO₄. Using a doubly folded-cavity type-II critical phase matching KTP crystal intra cavity to make 946 nm laser from Nd:YAG and 1342 nm laser from Nd:YVO₄ frequency summed, with incident pumped power of 30 W in Nd:YAG and 20 W in Nd:YVO₄, TEM₀₀ mode yellow-green laser at 554.9 nm at 1.15 W is obtained and its M² factor is less than 1.22. The experimental results show that the Nd:YAG and Nd:YVO₄ crystals intra-cavity sum-frequency mixing is an effective method for yellow-green laser and it can be applied to other two laser crystals to obtain more all-solid-state lasers with different wavelengths.     

Compact diode-side-pumped Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser in grazing-incidence configuration

The analysis of compact CW diode-side-pumped grazing-incidence-geometry Nd:YVO₄ laser designs is presented. An output power of 5 W (λ=1064 nm) was produced at 17 W of diode pump (conversion efficiency of 30%) in single transverse TEM₀₀ mode operation at high laser beam quality (M_x ²≈1.05 and M_y ²≈1.01). The resonator geometry was analyzed by applying generalized 4×4 matrix modeling of the spatial mode size, including the impact on the laser operation of cavity astigmatism and a thermal lens in the laser slab. The simplicity and compactness of the laser cavities allow their use for technological applications. Received: 31 July 2002 / Published online: 22 January 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +44-20/7594-7744, E-mail: m.damzen@ic.ac.uk     

Compact, efficient diode-end-pumped Nd:GdVO4 slab continuous-wave 912-nm laser

A fiber-coupled laser-diode (LD) end-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ slab continuous-wave (CW) 912-nm laser and an LD bar end-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ slab CW 912-nm laser are both demonstrated in this paper. Using the fiber-coupled LD of end-pumped type, a highest CW 912-nm laser output power of 10.17 W is obtained with a high optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 24.6% and a slope efficiency of 34.5%. The measured M² factors of beam quality in x and y directions are 5.3 and 5.1, respectively. Besides, an LD bar of end-pumped type is used to realize CW 912-nm laser output, which has the advantages of compactness and low cost. When the pump power is 38.8 W, the output power is 8.87 W and the measured M² factors of beam quality in x and y directions are 16 and 1.31, respectively. In order to improve the beam quality of the 912-nm laser at x direction, a new quasi-concentric laser resonator will be designed, and an LD bar end-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ slab high-power CW 912-nm TEM₀₀ laser will be realized in the future.     

High-repetition-rate high-beam-quality 43 W ultraviolet laser with extra-cavity third harmonic generation

High-power, high-repetition-rate extra-cavity third harmonic generation of 355 nm with high beam quality has been developed. The acoustic-optical Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ MOPA laser including 2- and 4-stage amplifiers was used as the IR source. With the extra-cavity frequency conversion of LBO crystals, 30.2 W TEM₀₀-mode 355 nm UV laser was obtained with a 2-stage amplifier MOPA laser, and the optical-to-optical (1064 nm to 355 nm) conversion efficiency was up to 30%. Enhanced 43 W TEM₀₀ UV laser at 60 kHz was achieved with a 4-stage amplifier MOPA IR laser, and pulse duration was 10.7 ns corresponding to the peak power as high as 67 kW, with single pulse energy of 0.72 mJ. The optical–optical efficiencies from IR and diodes to UV were 28% and 10% respectively.     

High-beam-quality, 5.1 J, 108 Hz diode-pumped Nd:YAG rod oscillator-amplifier laser system

A high efficiency, high beam quality diode-pumped Nd:YAG master oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) laser with six amplifier stages is demonstrated. The oscillator with two-rod birefringence compensation was designed as a thermally determined near hemispherical resonator, which presents a pulse energy of 223 mJ with a beam quality value of M² = 1.29 at a repetition rate of 108 Hz. The MOPA system delivers a pulse energy of 5.1 J with a pulse width of 230 μs, a M² factor of 3.6 and an optical-to-optical efficiency of 38.5%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest pulse energy for a diode-pumped Nd:YAG rod laser operation with a high beam quality and a pulse width of hundreds of microseconds at a repetition rate of over 100 Hz.     

High-efficiency continuous-wave and Q-switched diode-end-pumped multi-wavelength Nd:YAG lasers

We demonstrate high-efficiency diode-end-pumped multi-wavelength Nd:YAG lasers for continuous-wave and Q-switched operation. For the continuous-wave case, the Nd:YAG laser oscillates at 1.06 and 1.3 μm simultaneously; the maximum output power of 2.0 W (M² = 1.3) and 3.6 W (M² = 1.8) have been achieved at the incident pump power of 20.3 W, with the respective average slope efficiencies of 12.0% and 21.4%, for the lines of 1.06 and 1.3 μm, respectively. For the Q-switched operation, we achieve the average output power of 1.3 W (M² = 2.7) at 1.06 μm and 2.0 W (M² = 3.0) at 1.3 μm with the corresponding peak power of 10.2 and 4.2 kW under an incident pump power of 20.3 W.     

Yellow light generation by frequency doubling of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

We demonstrate the generation of TEM₀₀ mode yellow light in critically type II phase-matched KTiOPO₄ (KTP) with intracavity frequency doubling of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser at room temperature. After a 150 μm thick etalon have been inserted into the cavity, the stability and beam quality of the second harmonic generation (SHG) is enhanced. A continuous wave (CW) TEM₀₀ mode output power of 1.67 W at 556 nm is obtained at a pump level of 16 W. The total optical to optical conversion efficiency is about 10.44%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Watt-level yellow light generation by frequency doubling of Nd:YAG laser.     

Compact TEM<Subscript>00</Subscript> grazing-incidence Nd:GdVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser using a folded cavity

A compact diode-side-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ laser system using a folded cavity and grazing-incidence configuration is presented. The highest multimode output power obtained was 21.8 W at 36 W of effective diode pump power. Highest optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 61.5% was achieved at 33 W of effective diode pump power with 20.3 W of multimode output power. For single-mode TEM₀₀ operation, an intracavity telescope was adopted for mode matching in the horizontal direction. Because of the folded cavity and the intracavity telescope, this laser head was the most compact to our knowledge of the TEM₀₀ grazing-incidence laser geometry. At last, an output power of 15 W was produced at 36 W of effective diode pump power. The stable Q-switching operation was also obtained. PACS 42.55.-f; 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Gd     

Frequency splitting phenomenon of dual transverse modes in a Nd:YAG laser

We observed frequency splitting phenomenon of dual transverse modes (TEM_00q and TEM_01q) in a Nd:YAG microchip standing wave laser utilizing intracavity stress birefringence effects. Four resonance frequencies (ν_00qe, ν_00qo, ν_01qe, and ν_01qo, respectively) were produced and tuned by changing the diametral compression force applied on the laser crystal. The transverse mode frequency spacing for the same longitudinal mode number (Δν_trans) was 1.16 GHz, and the magnitude of frequency splitting (Δν) ranged from 0 MHz to 1.16 GHz. Based on this phenomenon, a four-mode differential standing wave laser, whose signal characteristics were a little like those of a four-mode differential travelling wave laser gyro however with a much larger frequency splitting range, was produced. The theoretical analysis is in good agreement with the experimental results. This phenomenon not only can be used to make lasers with two or more frequency differences, but also can be used to make high-resolution self-sensing laser sensors (e.g. laser force sensors and laser accelerometers).     

885 nm LD end-pumped 22.7 W high beam quality electro-optical Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

We report an 885 nm laser diode (LD) end-pumped high beam quality (M _x ² = 1.322, M _y ² = 1.235) electro-optical Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with TEM₀₀-mode output for the first time. At the absorbed pump power of 59.5 W, a 22.7 W 1064 nm laser was achieved at 10 kHz repetition rate with optical-to-optical efficiency of 38.1%. The maximum pulse energy and shortest pulse width were 5.1 mJ and 14.5 ns at 2 kHz repetition rate, and the calculated peak power was 352 kW.     

Passively Q-switched diode-pumped Cr:YAG/Nd:GdVO4 monolithic microchip laser

The realization of high repetition rate passively Q-switched monolithic microlaser is a challenge since a decade. To achieve this goal, we report here on the first passively Q-switched diode-pumped microchip laser based on the association of a Nd:GdVO₄ crystal and a Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber. The monolithic design consists of 1 mm long 1% doped Nd:GdVO₄ optically contacted on a 0.4 mm long Cr⁴⁺:YAG leading to a plano-plano cavity. A repetition rate as high as 85 kHz is achieved. The average output power is approximately 400 mW for 2.2 W of absorbed pump power and the pulse length is 1.1 ns.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4 laser at 1342 nm with V:YAG saturable absorber

We have demonstrated an efficient diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO₄ laser working at 1342 nm by using an uncoated V³⁺:YAG crystal as the saturable absorber, in which both a-cut and c-cut Nd:GdVO₄ crystals are employed. At the maximum absorbed pump power of 9.45 W, the maximum average output power can reach 519 mW and 441 mW corresponding to the output coupler with different transmission of 3% and 10% by using an a-cut Nd:GdVO₄ crystal at 1342 nm, while the shortest pulse duration could be as low as 21.7 ns and 22.3 ns with the repetition rate of 48.41 kHz and 53.25 kHz by using a c-cut Nd:GdVO₄ crystal, corresponding to the output coupler with different transmission of 3% and 10% at 1342 nm, and the single Q-switched pulse energy are 6.67 uJ and 7.06 uJ, the pulse peak power are 307 W and 316 W, respectively. The experimental results show that c-cut Nd:GdVO₄ laser can generate shorter pulse with higher peak power in comparison with a-cut one.