Diode-side-pumped AO Q-switched Tm,Ho:LuLF laser

A diode-side-pumped Tm,Ho:LuLiF laser at 2-m wavelength obtained in a ring resonator and its amplification experiment are reported. At the maximum pump energy of 4.7 J available for the oscillator,the output energy per pulse for the oscillator decreases from 904 to 483 mJ in free running mode,and decreases from 106 to 68 mJ in Q-switched mode,with an increase of pump pulse repetition rate from 1 to 5 Hz. When considering the amplifier,99-mJ Q-switched output energy is achieved at 5-Hz repetition rate.     

Diode-side-pumped AO Q-switched Tm, Ho:LuLiF laser

Diode side pumped and acousto-optical (AO) Q-switched Tm, Ho, LuLiF laser at 2 μm wavelength obtained in a ring resonator is reported in this paper. The three LDAs were placed 120° apart around the laser rod of ?4 × 20 mm dimension. A ring resonator has been used for its At free run mode, four different output loss ouplers has been tried. When the output loss is 20%, 103 mJ per pulse at 1 Hz pulse repetition frequency has been obtained with the optical to optical energy conversion efficiency of 3.17%. At the Q-switched mode, the laser pulse energy is 30 mJ with the pulse width of 417 ns. The optical to optical energy conversion efficiency is 0.93%. The slope efficiency is 6.36 and 2.90% under the two running mode, respectively.     

Effect of turnoff time on characteristics of the output pulse in an AO Q-switched laser

A laser-end-diode-pumped actively Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser with acoustic-optic (AO) modulator is realized. By changing the position of AO in the cavity for changing the transit time of the acoustic-wave, the effect of the AO turnoff time on the characteristics of the output Q-switched pulse is obtained. The experimental results show that the longer transit time leads to the wider pulse duration. By considering the Gaussian spatial distribution of the intra-cavity photon density and the AO turnoff time including the electronic turnoff time and the transit time of the acoustic-wave, the numerical solutions of the coupled Q-switched rate equations are consistent with the experimental results.     

Multimode pumped continuous-wave solid-state Raman laser

We demonstrate the continuous-wave operation of a solid-state Raman laser containing a barium nitrate crystal as the Raman medium. The Raman laser, which has a singly resonant cavity, is pumped by multimode radiation. The Raman oscillation threshold is reached at approximately 2 W of pump power. As much as 500 kW/cm2 of Stokes power density at 60-kW/cm2 pump power density is obtained in the cavity.     

Depolarization loss compensated resonator for electro-optic Q-switched solid-state laser

A novel laser resonator for compensating depolarization loss that is due to thermally induced birefringence in active rod is reported. As this new structure being applied to an electro-optic Q-switched LDA side-pumped Nd:YAG laser operating at a repetition rate of 1000 Hz, substantial reduction in depolarization loss has been observed, the output pulse energy is improved about 56% from that of a traditional resonator without compensation structure. With incident pump energy of 450 mJ per pulse, linearly polarized output energy of 30 mJ per pulse is achieved, the pulse duration is less than 15 ns, and the peak power of pulse is about 2 MW. The extinction ratio of laser beam is better than 10:1, and the beam divergence is 1.3 mrad with beam diameter of around 2.5 mm.     

1 J/pulse Q-switched 2 microm solid-state laser

Q-switched output of 1.1 J/pulse at a 2.053 microm wavelength has been achieved in a diode-pumped Ho: Tm: LuLF laser with a side-pumped rod configuration in a master-oscillator-power-amplifier (MOPA) architecture. This is the first time to our knowledge that a 2 microm laser has broken the joule per pulse barrier for Q-switched operation. The total system efficiency reaches 5% and 6.2% for single- and double-pulse operation, respectively. The system produces an excellent 1.4 times transform-limited beam quality.     

On combined diode pumping of a passively Q-switched solid-state laser

Peculiarities of using combined diode pumping consisting of continuous wave (CW) and pulsed components in a diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) laser with intracavity saturable absorber are studied. The requirements to pumping parameters for Q-switched operation are stated. The threshold optical pump energy and the diode-pumping time are investigated.     

超高斯光束抽运调Q固体激光器仿真模型研究

仿真计算一直是研究激光器的重要手段,而激光理论是仿真计算的基础.虽然半经典激光理论能够精确地描述激光的产生过程,但是其复杂性导致仿真需要庞大的计算资源和计算时间.为了能够更加高效地对激光器进行仿真,提出了一种调Q固体激光器的仿真模型.基于此模型,研究了影响主动调Q激光产生过程的因素.这些因素包括抽运功率、抽运光分布和模式竞争.仿真计算结果与对照实验测量数据相符合,说明了模型的有效性.     

Optimization of intracavity Q-switched laser frequency doubling

The optimization theory for intracavity frequency-doubled Q-switched lasers is discussed. Nonlinear loss effects caused by the frequency doubler were introduced into the rate equations. The harmonic pulse characteristics such as peak power, pulse energy, pulsewidth were studied. Lagrange multiplier technique was adopted to maximize the peak power of the second-harmonic pulse for a given pumping level. It was found that the optimal frequency-doubling factor is constant and equals 1. Design curves for the laser characteristics parameter were established. The curves and expressions presented help in designing an optimal Q-switched intracavity frequency-doubled miniature laser and predict the pulse characteristics.     

Passively Q-switched fiber laser that uses saturable Raman gain

Operation of a short all-fiber passively Q-switched Raman laser pumped by a continuous-wave laser diode is experimentally demonstrated. The passively switched fiber laser consists simply of a double-clad ytterbium-doped silica fiber that is spliced directly to a moderately germanium-doped silica fiber. The placement of the Ge-doped silica fiber within the fundamental (Raman pump) cavity allows interplay between fundamental and Stokes fields to take place, which leads to saturation of the Raman gain as a result of pump depletion. Pulse widths of 70 and 60 ns at the first and second Stokes wavelengths of 1168 and 1232 nm, respectively, are produced at a stable 588 kHz repetition rate.     

High-peak-power AlGaInAs quantum-well 1.3-mum laser pumped by a diode-pumped actively Q-switched solid-state laser

We report a room-temperature high-peak-power AlGaInAs 1.36 microm TEM00 laser pumped by a diode-pumped actively Q-switched Nd:YAG 1.06 microm laser. With an average pump power of 1.0 W, an average output power of 140 mW was obtained at a pulse repetition rate of 10 kHz. With a peak pump power of 8.3 kW, the highest peak output power was 1.5 kW at a pulse repetition rate of 5 kHz.     

Pulse interval jitter of a passively and actively acousto-optically Q-switched solid-state laser

We study the pulse interval jitter of a passively and actively acousto-optically Q-switched solidstate laser. Diffraction and birefringent acousto-optical cells are considered as active Q-switches. Analytical expressions for the pulse interval jitter of a solid-state laser are obtained. The possibilities of jitter reduction are examined.     

Passively Q-switched diode-pumped Raman laser with third-order Stokes eye-safe oscillation

We demonstrate a passively Q-switched all-solid-state laser system with intracavity Raman frequency conversion to the eye-safe spectral region. Laser oscillation at the 1.064 μm wavelength with a pulse repetition rate of several kilohertz was provided by a Nd:YAG crystal and a Cr:YAG passive absorber. Third Stokes oscillations at the 1.599 and 1.494 μm wavelengths were obtained in Ba(NO₃)₂ and PbWO₄ crystals with output pulse energies of 5 μJ and 6 μJ, respectively. The results of the numerical simulation of the pulse dynamics are in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Simultaneous passively Q-switched dual-wavelength solid-state laser working at 1065 and 1066 nm

A passively Q-switched dual-wavelength solid-state laser is presented. The two wavelengths are emitted by two different crystals in order to avoid gain competition, and the synchronization between the pulses is obtained by external triggering of the saturable absorber. Sum frequency mixing is demonstrated, proving the interest of this source for terahertz generation in the 0.3-0.4 THz range through difference frequency generation.     

Control of the pulse width of a laser-diode end-pumped passively Q-switched solid-state laser

We theoretically and experimentally study different techniques to control the pulse width of a laser-diode-pumped passively Q-switched solid-state laser. It is shown that varying the laser beam radius in the saturable absorber and the pump beam radius in the gain medium provide an efficient means to control the pulse width. The experiments performed on a laser-diode-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser passively Q-switched by a Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber are consistent with the theoretical calculations obtained from the rate-equations model, in which the intracavity photon density is assumed to be Gaussian spatial distribution, and the longitudinal variation of the intracavity photon density and the pump beam spatial distribution are also considered.     

Eye-safe solid-state quasi-CW Raman laser with millisecond pulse duration

We demonstrate the first quasi-CW (ms-long pulses, pump duty cycle of 10%) end-diode pumped solid state laser generating eye-safe radiation via intracavity Raman conversion. The output power at the first Stokes wavelength (1524 nm) was 250 mW. A theoretical model was applied to analyze the laser system and provide routes for optimization. The possibility of true CW operation was discussed.     

Q-switched Yb 3+ :YVO 4 laser with Raman self-conversion

We report the efficient continuous-wave (CW) and Q-switched laser operation of a diode-pumped Yb:YVO₄ laser. A CW output power of 1 W with a slope efficiency of 59% with respect to absorbed pump power was demonstrated. Passively Q-switched with a Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber, a Yb:YVO₄ laser with Raman conversion was demonstrated. Q-switched 18.7- J pulses with a pulse duration of 17 ns and a peak power up to 1 kW were obtained at 1018-nm fundamental wavelength and 3.6- J pulses with a pulse duration of 6 ns and a peak power of about 0.6 kW were obtained at 1119.5-nm first-Stokes wavelength.This revised version was published online in March 2005. In the previous version, the published online date was missing     

QCW diode-pumped 654 W AO Q-switched Nd:YAG rod oscillator-amplifier laser

A diode laser-pumped acoustic-optic Q-switched Nd:YAG master-oscillator power amplifier laser is presented. The laser is quasi continuously pumped at 1.1 kHz with a pulse width of 172 μs, and the ultrasonic frequency of the AO Q-switcher is set at a higher value (53 kHz). The master oscillator is designed as a thermally near-unstable-resonator, which presents an average output power of 48 W with a beam quality value of M² = 1.41 and a Q-switching pulse duration of 121 ns. The maximum average power of the MOPA system is 654 W, and the beam quality is M² = 6.     

The LD end-pumped Q-switched solid-state laser design software based on the adaptive method

In the LD end-pumped acousto-optic (A-O) Q-switched solid-state laser, according to the requirements of users on the laser peak power, the pulse width, the repetition rate and the beam quality factor M², if the main parameters of the pumping source and the laser resonator can be pre-designed by a software, will effectively guide experiments, and save cost. A kind of laser design software is introduced in this paper, which is based on the adaptive adjustment method and using MATLAB/C mixed programming. According to the user requirements, a compact LD end-pumped A-O Q-switched Nd:YAG laser which peak power is 100-kW-class can be designed and actual outputs can be calculated based on the design results. Drawing the laser pulse waveform, analyzing of the thermal effect in laser gain medium and drawing the temperature distribution map, exporting and saving the data are the additional functions of this software.     

All solid-state passively Q-switched frequency-doubled intra-cavity Nd: GdVO4/KTP laser

In this paper, laser frequency-double and passive Q-switching are studied. The optimum coupling at endpump and optimum design of resonator are also investigated. The maximum output power of TEM00 is 1.68 W at 1.06-μm wavelength. Optic-optic conversion efficiency is 48.6%, and the slope efficiency is 56.3%. The maximum output of green light is 0.235 W. The smallest pulse-width of green light is 27.42 ns, optic-optic conversion efficiency of green light is 7%, and beam quality factor M2 ＜ 1.2. Thermal lens effect is discussed.