Measurement of στ product of solid state laser materials by an alternative method: Application to Nd3+ doped YVO4 crystal for 4 F 3/2→4 I 11/2 transition

In this paper an alternative approach for measurement of στ product for ⁴ F _3/2→⁴ I _11/2 transition of Nd³⁺ doped YVO₄ crystal is reported. In this method a microchip laser is formed by keeping a small piece of the sample in plane-plane resonator and a diode laser (808 nm) is used for pumping. The pump power induced thermal lensing effect is used to make the cavity stable. The cavity mode area is estimated by measuring the thermal lens focal length at the threshold and the average pump area is measured by Gaussian fit to the intensity profiles of the pump beam. The value of στ product of Nd:YVO₄ crystal obtained by this method is within 10% of the reported values. The advantage of this method is that it is a simple method for direct measurement of στ product of laser crystals.     

High-power 888-nm-pumped Nd:YVO4 1342-nm oscillator operating in the TEM00 mode

We report on a high-power 888-nm-pumped continuous-wave Nd:YVO₄ laser at 1342 nm. An output power of 24 W emitted into a diffraction limited beam with an M ² parameter better than <1.1 is demonstrated. At an absorbed pump power of 84 W the optical conversion efficiency is 29%.     

Power and radiance scaling of a 946 nm Nd:YAG planar waveguide laser

We present a diode-end-pumped Nd:YAG planar waveguide laser operating on neodymium’s quasi-four-level transition at a wavelength of 946 nm. Two modes of operation are described: a high-power multi-mode monolithic cavity generating 105 for 210 W of incident pump power with a slope efficiency of ∼54%, and secondly, a high-radiance configuration employing an external stable resonator producing a maximum output power of 29.2 for 86.5 W of incident pump-power, with a slope efficiency of 33%. The output beam quality values of the external cavity were M² of 3.2 by 2.4, leading to a maximum radiance of 0.43 GW cm⁻² sr⁻¹.     

The Beam Propagation Factor of Nonparaxial Truncated Flattened Gaussian Beams

By using the second-order moment of the power density, the beam width, far-field divergence angle and M² factor of nonparaxial truncated flattened Gaussian (FG) beams are derived analytically. It is shown that the M² factor of nonparaxial truncated FG beams depends not only on the truncation parameter δ and beam order N, but also on the initial waist-width to wavelength ratio w₀/λ. The far-field divergence angle approaches an asymptotic value of θ_max=63.435° when the truncation parameter δ → 0. For the special cases of N = 0 and δ → ∞ our results reduce to those of nonparaxial truncated Gaussian beams and nonparaxial untruncated FG beams, respectively.     

Measurement of K β K /α values using proton beamvalues using proton beam

The Measurement of K _β K _/α intensity ratios are measured in some 3d shell elements by using a 2 MeV proton beam along with a high resolution Si(Li) detector. The present Measurement of K _β K _/α intensity ratios are in good agreement with Scofield modified theoretical values, thus supporting the basic assumptions in that theory. From the present Measurement of K _β K _/α intensity ratios, it is evident that due to chemical effects, the experimental Measurement of K _β K _/α intensity ratios will be increased while they will be decreased due to the presence of simultaneous M-shell vacancies which are produced due to proton excitation.     

Diode-end-pumped Tm,Ho:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> microchip laser at room temperature

Room temperature Tm, Ho:YVO₄ microchip laser operated around 2 μm was demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. At a heat sink temperature of 283 K, a maximum output power of 47 mW was obtained by using a 0.25 mm length crystal at an absorbed pump power of 912 mW, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 9.1%. Increasing the temperature to 288 K, as much as 16.5 mW 2052.3 nm single-longitudinal-mode laser was achieved. The M ² factor was measured to be 1.4.     

High-power diode-pumped Tm:YLF slab laser

A 2% Tm³⁺-doped LiYF₄(Tm:YLF) slab is double-end-pumped by two laser diode stacks. The pumped volume has a rectangular cross section. The Tm:YLF laser produced 148 W of continuos-wave output at 1912 nm in a beam with M _x ²≈199 and M _y ²≈1.7 for 554 W of incident pump power. The slope efficiency with respect to the incident pump power was 32.6%, and the optical-to-optical efficiency was 26.7%.     

High-efficiency longitudinally-pumped miniature Nd:YVO4 laser

We report on fundamental and intracavity frequency-doubled emission in a miniature Nd:YVO₄ (3×3×1 mm) laser. A maximum slope efficiency of η_s=58.6%, with optical efficiency of η₀=53.0% at 780 mW pump power was realized in a TEM₀₀ output beam. To obtain the optimum pump-beam focusing conditions we applied a new formalism in which the pump-beam propagation in the active medium was described by its M² factor. A good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results was observed. In second-harmonic regime, obtained by a KTP crystal, 230 mW green power that corresponds to 54% nonlinear conversion efficiency was reached.     

Diode-pumped monolithic Er3+:Yb3+:YAl3(BO3)4 micro-laser at 1.6 μm

Efficient eye-safe 1.6 μm monolithic laser was realized in a c-cut, 0.7-mm-thick Er³⁺:Yb³⁺:YAl₃(BO₃)₄ microchip end-pumped by a quasi-continuous-wave 970 nm diode laser. At incident pump peak power of 20.4 W, a maximum output peak power of 2.6 W with a slope efficiency of 19% was obtained when the waist radius of pump laser beam was 220 μm. The spectra and profiles of output beam of the Er³⁺:Yb³⁺:YAl₃(BO₃)₄ monolithic laser were measured. The influences of the waist radius of pump laser beam on the slope efficiency and threshold of the monolithic laser were also investigated.     

High-power and efficiency continuous-wave operation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis>-cut Ho:YAP laser at room temperature

We report the continuous-wave (CW) operation of a room-temperature a-cut Ho:YAP laser resonantly end-pumped by a diode-pumped Tm:YLF laser at 1.91 μm. A maximum CW output power of 14.6 W at 2118.7 nm for a-oriented Ho:YAP was obtained, corresponding to the slope efficiency of 69.35% and optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 63.04% with respect to absorbed pump power. The laser operated at a single mode (TEM₀₀) with the beam quality factor of M ² ∼ 1.51.     

截断部分相干厄米-高斯光束的广义M2G因子

基于广义截断二阶矩法,推导出了截断部分相干厄米-高斯(H-G)光束的广义M²_G因子的解析表达式. 截断完全相干H-G光束、截断高斯谢尔模型(GSM)光束以及截断高斯光束可以做为本文结果的特例给出. 研究表明:截断部分相干H-G光束的广义M²_G因子与截断参数δ,模阶数m以及相干参数α有关. 当δ非常小时,M^{2关键词： 截断部分相干厄米高斯光束 M2_G因子')" href="#">广义M2_G因子 广义截断二阶矩法}     

High efficiency Tm fiber laser of seed amplification

We use all-fiber single-mode lasers as seed source, amplifiers and pump laser coupling amplifier has been experimentally investigated, respectively. The maximum output power is 10.4 W, with the slope efficiency of 54.4% when the seed laser power is 1 W, and the slope efficiency is 48.7% when the seed laser power is 2 W. The slope efficiency of this scheme is higher than that of the all-fiber amplifier. This can be explained by the loss of pump power at the splice dots. The wavelength of the fiber amplifier is 1947.6 nm, the same as the seed laser's, with a linewidth of 2 nm. We estimate the beam quality to be M² = 2.39, clearly indicating nearly diffraction-limited beam propagation.     

Ion flux's pressure dependence in an asymmetric capacitively coupled rf discharge in NF<Subscript>3</Subscript>

Starting from an analytical macroscopic/phenomenological model yielding the self-bias voltage as a function of the absorbed radio-frequency (rf) power of an asymmetric capacitively coupled discharge in NF₃ this paper studies the dependence of the ion flux onto the powered electrode on the gas pressure. An essential feature of the model is the assumption that the ions' drift velocity in the sheath near the powered electrode is proportional to E ^α, where E=−ΔU (U being the self-bias potential), and α is a coefficient depending on the gas pressure and cross section of elastic ion-neutral collisions. The model also considers the role of γ-electrons, stochastic heating as well as the contribution of the active electron current to the global discharge power balance. Numerically solving the model's basic equations one can extract the magnitude of the ion flux (at three different gas pressures) in a technological etching device (Alcatel GIR 220) by using easily measurable quantities, notably the self-bias voltage and absorbed rf power.     

3.8 W of cw blue light generated by intracavity frequency doubling of a 946-nm Nd:YAG laser with LBO

Efficient cw intracavity frequency doubling of a diode-end-pumped Nd:YAG laser operating on ⁴ F _3/2→⁴ I _9/2 transitions at 946 nm has been demonstrated. A symmetrical cavity with two composite laser rods was designed, which divides the pump power between the two composite laser rods, allowing for greater power scalability. A 30-mm-long LiB₃O₅ (LBO) crystal, cut for critical type I phase matching at 57 °C, was used for the intracavity frequency doubling of the laser. A maximum output power of 3.8 W in the blue spectral range at 473 nm has been achieved at 39 W of pump power. The beam quality M² value is 2.3 in both horizontal and vertical dimensions. PACS 42.55.Xi; 42.65.Ky     

Asymptotic approach to the truncated cosh-Gaussian beams

The propagation behavior and M ²-factor of truncated cosh-Gaussian (ChG) beams are studied by using the asymptotic approach. Detailed numerical results are given to illustrate the dependence of M ²-factor on the beam decentered parameter , truncation fraction p and power fraction f. Our results are self-consistent and reduce to those of Pare and Belanger [Opt. Commun. 123, p. 679 (1996a); Proc. SPIE 2870, p. 104 (1996b)]. The advantage of the approach is shown, and the problems introduced by the hard-aperture diffraction and the approach used are discussed.     

单口径相干合成系统激光光束的M2因子研究

单口径相干合成系统激光光束的光束质量是一个亟待解决的重要问题.基于二阶矩定义, 文中给出了单口径TEM₀₀, TEM₀₁及TEM₁₀两两相干光束M²因子的解析表达式, 并比较分析了束腰宽度、传输距离、振幅之比,以及源场位置矢量对相干光束M²因子的影响, 得到了诸如源场位置参量d₁<100λ时,各相干光束M²因子恒定,反之, 其随位置参量d₁的增大而增大等一些结论.最后,文章对两TEM₀₀模相干光束M²因子的 部分理论进行了实验验证.     

Precise measurement of magnetic moment of short-lived β-emitting nuclei12B ( I π=1+, T 1/2=20.18 ms)

The spin polarized β-emitting nuclei¹²B (I ^π=1⁺,T _1/2=20.18 ms) were produced by the nuclear reaction¹¹B(d, p)¹²B and by the selection technique of the incident deuteron energy and the¹²B recoil angle following the nuclear reaction. The nuclear magnetic moment of the short-lived nuclei¹²B was measured by β-NMR with the β-NMR and β-NQR setup established for the first time in China. The nuclear magnetic moment of¹²B was determined to be μ=0.99993±0.00048 nm org=0.99993±0.00048 after the precise correction of the Knight shift.     

Comparison of cw laser performance of Nd:KGW, Nd:YAG, Nd:BEL, and Nd:YVO4 under laser diode pumping

4 crystals under low-power laser diode end-pumping. Output power dependencies on the pump power and the pump wavelength of these diode-pumped solid state lasers were investigated. The high Nd³⁺ concentration of the Nd:KGW samples used in our measurements as well as up-conversion and exited-state absorption processes in Nd:KGW cause the reduced laser output power dependence on the pump wavelength which was experimentally observed. At pump levels up to 270 mW a slope efficiency of η_sl≈46% was reached for the Nd:KGW laser. Nd:KGW microchip laser operation with a slope efficiency of η_sl≈50% was demonstrated. Thermal lensing in Nd:KGW at pump powers up to 3 W was measured. Received: 4 August 1997     

Experimental evidence of photoinduced valence change of Fe3+ in BaTiO3 and mechanism for growth of new grating in depleted pump condition: An EPR investigation

With a view to understanding the role of photo-induced valence changes of impurities in BaTiO₃ in the phenomena of photorefraction, EPR experiments were conducted under in situ He-Ne laser illumination. These experiments gave evidence for photoinduced valence change of Fe in BaTiO₃ at room temperature. The EPR signal due to trivalent iron was found to reduce in intensity with laser illumination The kinetics of the valence change has been investigated. Under large fringe width condition, the time constant of the decay is identified as the dielectric relaxation time τ_d. The changes in line shape on laser illumination to Dysonian form, appeared most predominantly in mechanically poled crystal compared to electrically poled single domain crystals. This demonstrated the possible role of domain walls and the defects there, as source or sinks of charge carriers on photo excitation. It is observed, that there is transient growth of Fe³⁺, when the laser illumination was put on, before its decay. This was attributed to charge transfer between electrons in oxygen vacancies and Fe⁴⁺. This predicted the growth of a transient grating under depleted pump condition in a two beam coupling experiment. This was experimentally proved by following the diffracted signal of the reading beam under the depleted pump condition.     

Muon catalyzed fusion and muon to 3He transfer in solid T2 studied by X-ray and neutron detection

X-ray and neutron measurements were carried out for muon catalyzed fusion and related phenomena in solid T₂. The X-ray originated from the μ^- to α sticking in muon catalyzed fusion; t + t + μ ^- → (μ ^- α) + 2n was measured for the first time, yielding K _α X-ray intensity of (μα) atom and the intensity ratio of K _β to K _α . Utilizing the phenomena of ³He accumulation in solid T₂, the X-ray in the μ^- transfer process from (tμ) to ³He was detected, providing a formation rate and radiative decay branching-ratio of (t ³Heμ) molecule. From fusion neutron measurements, estimated values were obtained for (ttμ) molecular formation rate as well as sticking probability ω_t in ttμ fusion. A possible new insight in t + t fusion reaction process at a low energy limit is also obtained. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.