Reflection losses of a multidisc diode-pumped Nd: YAG laser

This paper reports on the alignment requirements of a scalable multidisc laser with respect to the internal reflection losses of the resonator. Considering the polarization state of the mode, these losses are generated due to a polarization mismatch at the disc surfaces. Measurements of the polarization of the output beam from a laser containing tilted discs were compared with computer simulations. The losses were calculated for resonators containing discs deviating slightly from the ideal orientation in a random manner, in order to predict the alignment requirements for a multidisc system. Results for variable numbers of discs and angular deviations are presented.     

Rotating-disk diode-pumped continuous-wave Nd:YAG laser

Continuous-Wave (CW) diode-laser-pumped experiments using rotating Nd: YAG disk(s) have been performed in the input-power range of 1–6 W and rotation-speed range of 0–25 Hz. With a single Nd: YAG disk in the laser cavity, about 1.56 W of output power at 1.06 µm due to the Nd³⁺ (⁴ F _3/2–⁴ I _11/2) transition at an absorbed input power of 4.2 W has been observed, leading to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of over 37% and slope efficiency of 52% using 7.5% transmission output coupler. The laser output power has been observed to decrease by either increasing the number of Nd:YAG disks in the cavity or increasing the rotation speed of the disk(s).     

550-W diode-pumped Nd:YAG disk laser

When a thin laser crystal disk is used with a nearly flat-top pump profile, the heat flux can be considered to be one-dimensional. This results in a homogeneous temperature and stress profile within the laser medium leading to reduction of thermal effects. A nearly flat-top pump profile is achieved with a two-pass cylindrical-lens coupling system. An average output power of 550 W is obtained by an average pumping power of 1650 W with a 40-mm diameter Nd:YAG disk. The optical-optical efficiency is 33%.     

二极管泵浦Nd:YAG薄片激光器技术研究

固体激光器向高平均功率发展的最大障碍是激光介质的热效应.采用薄片激光介质可以实现热流近一维分布,因而是解决固体激光器热效应的有效手段之一,但许多因素都会影响薄片的一维热分布.对薄片热分布的主要影响因素进行的计算分析表明,在均匀泵浦条件下,泵浦区径向温度的均匀性不仅和泵浦区面积与薄片厚度之比有关,而且和冷却区与泵浦区的相关尺寸有关.采用均匀耦合技术并合理设计薄片的散热冷却结构以实现热流近一维分布,用平均功率336 W的激光二极管阵列泵浦一块NdYAG薄片,获得了平均功率超过120 W的准连续激光输出.     

100W二极管泵浦Nd:YAG薄片激光器

 报道了一台高效率二极管泵浦Nd:YAG薄片激光器，采用高效均匀泵浦耦合技术，在峰值功率1.008kW，占空比25％, 电-光效率大于45%的二极管激光阵列泵浦下，用一块1mm厚的Nd:YAG薄片激光介质，获得了峰值功率404W，平均功率101W的准连续激光输出，光-光效率达到40%，电-光效率超过18%。     

550-W diode-pumped Nd:YAG disk laser

When a thin laser crystal disk is used with a nearly flat-top pump profile, the heat flux can be considered to be one-dimensional. This results in a homogeneous temperature and stress profile within the laser medium leading to reduction of thermal effects. A nearly flat-top pump profile is achieved with a two-pass cylindrical-lens coupling system. An average output power of 550 W is obtained by an average pumping     

Longitudinally diode-pumped Nd:YAG double-clad planar waveguide laser

We report the demonstration of a near-diffraction-limited, compact, diode-end-pumped double-clad planar waveguide Nd:YAG laser. Efficient laser operation was achieved for the three dominant Nd(3+) transitions, at 1.064, 0.946, and 1.32microm , with TE polarized output powers of 1.33, 0.57, and 0.33 W for the available output couplers. The output beam from the monolithic plane-plane laser cavity had measured M(2) values of 1.0 and 1.8 perpendicular and parallel, respectively, to the plane of the waveguide.     

Single-mode high-peak-power passively Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

We have demonstrated an efficient, compact, passively Q-switched single-mode diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser that uses Cr(4+):YAG as a saturable absorber. Linear- and ring-cavity configurations were demonstrated. Pulse energies and widths were, respectively, 1.5mJ and 3.9ns for the linear cavity and 2.1mJ and 12ns for the ring cavity.     

High-peak-power diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser with a Brillouin phase-conjugation--pulse-compression mirror

We demonstrate stimulated Brillouin scattering compression of diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser pulses with a 3-ns duration into 350-ps pulses at a pulse-repetition rate of 100 Hz for what is believed to be the first time. The output pulse energy was 6.5 mJ, with a beam-quality factor M(2) of 1.15, and after final amplification the energy reached 36 mJ, with M(2) of 2.5.     

Intracavity frequency-tripling of actively mode-locked diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

We report the first diode-pumped solid-state laser operating in cw-mode-locked regime and simultaneously achieving intracavity frequency-tripling. This laser provide UV picosecond pulses (λ=355 nm) of 10 ps duration with 0.5 mW average power at 150 MHz repetition rate. A different set of adjustments gave rise to a Q-switched mode-locked regime. Trains of hundred UV pulses of 60 ps duration and 4 W peak power were produced in this latter case at 50 kHz repetition rate. Received: 12 October 1998 / Revised version: 12 December 1998 / Published online: 26 May 1999     

Experimental development of a monolithic passively Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

The development of a passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser is described in quite some experimental detail involving 3 pump diode arrays (70 W, 300 W, 600 W). Emphasis is set on the influence of pump beam profile and optimum fiber diameter on achievable pulse energies in the chosen case of fiber-coupling for the pump radiation (adjustable parameters: initial transmission, mirror reflectivity and resonator length; this work having been preceded by numerical simulations not covered in this paper). The coupling optics plays a major role on basis of variable fiber-lens distance and focal length in the formation of single or even multiple pulses. Finally, a monolithic demonstrator is presented which could be employed for applications like the induction of chemical reactions in general, i.e. ignition, for instance, in more detail. Stable ns-operation with emitted pulse energies up to 15 mJ could be achieved.     

Nonlinear mirror operation of a diode-pumped quasi-cw picosecond Nd:YAG laser

Received: 10 July 1997/Revised version: 23 September 1997     

Diffraction losses of Nd:YAG and Yb:YAG laser crystals

Based on space-dependent rate equations, the lowest threshold input power for a diode end-pumped solid-state laser is obtained for the pump spot size w_p→0. However, as the pump beam waist is decreased, the thermally induced effects in the laser rod would be very high. Diffraction losses caused by radial and tangential variations of refractive index have been analyzed and compared for the Nd : YAG and the Yb : YAG at room temperature (300 K) and liquid-nitrogen temperature (77 K).     

208-W TEM00 operation of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG rod laser

208-W average-power TEM(00) -mode operation from a diode-pumped Nd:YAG rod laser was demonstrated. The side-pumping method of generating a high-gain aberration-free rod, the bifocusing-compensation technique with two identically pumped rods, and a suitable choice of beam spot size were employed in the design of this laser. At the maximum pump power of 1.1 kW the fundamental transverse-mode operation (M(2)<1.1) was characterized by 7.6% electrical efficiency. The extraction efficiency was almost 60% of full multimode operation. Stable operation was obtained within a pump-power range of 15% of the maximum pump power.     

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.     

Q-switched and mode-locked diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser with an LT-GaAs

Simultaneous Q-switching and mode-locking (QML) is accomplished in a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser using low-temperature GaAs (LT-GaAs) as the saturable absorber, which also acts as an output coupler at the same time. The repetition rate of the Q-switched envelope increased from 25 to 40 kHz as the pump power increased from 2.2 to 6.9 W. The mode-locked pulses inside the Q-switched pulse envelope had a repetition rate of 714 MHz. A maximum average output power of 770 mW was obtained.     

36-W diode-pumped continuous-wave 1319-nm Nd:YAG ceramic laser

Continuous-wave output at 1319 nm was obtained from a laser-diode-pumped 1% ceramic Nd:YAG laser. As much as 36.3-W output was obtained under pump power of 290 W, with an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 12.5%.     

High-efficiency diode-pumped acousto-optically Q-switched 1123 nm ceramic Nd:YAG laser

A high-efficiency diode-pumped acousto-optically (AO) Q-switched ceramic Nd:YAG (cNd:YAG) laser operating at 1123 nm is demonstrated for the first time. With an incident pump power of 17.11 W and a pulse repetition rate of 30 kHz, an average output power of 5.86 W is obtained. The optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 34.2% and the slope efficiency is 39.1%.     

High-temperature operation of a diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG laser

The output performances of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser passively Q-switched by Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber crystal were investigated function of temperature. Increase of the temperature from 25 to 150°C increased slightly the laser pulse energy, and did not change the pulse duration. Furthermore, an increased absorbed energy of the pump radiation was necessary at temperatures higher than 25°C in order to maintain Q-switch operation. Measurements concluded that Cr⁴⁺:YAG transmission did not vary when temperature increased to 150°C. The decrease of Nd:YAG emission cross section with temperature and the changes of resonator configuration due to thermal effects were considered as main reasons for this behavior. The results of this work are valuable for designing a laser-ignition system for industrial gas engine or automotive industry.     

Wood engraving by Q-switched diode-pumped frequency-doubled Nd:YAG green laser

Laser deep engraving is one of the most promising technologies to be used in wood carver operations. In this method, a laser beam is used to ablate a solid wood bulk, following predetermined patterns. The sculpture is obtained by repeating this process on each successive thin layer. Obviously, in order to achieve larger material removal rates, the process needs a controllable variation of the depth to carve a 3D (three dimensional) profiles.The degree of precision of the shape, the removal rate and the surface quality during the engraving process strictly depend on the materials properties, the laser source characteristics and the process parameters.The aim of this work is to investigate the influence of the process parameters on the material removal rates by engraving panels made of different types of wood using a Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:YAG green laser working with a wavelength λ=532 nm. The examined parameters were: the mean power that depends on the pulse frequency, the beam speed and the number of laser scansions, also called repetitions. The working parameters and the engraved depth were related and an energy-based model was proposed in order to predict the latter.Experimental results showed that the Q-switched diode-pumped frequency-doubled Nd:YAG green laser can be successfully used to machine different types of wood, obtaining decorative drawing and 3D engraved geometries without burning. However, an accurate selection of the wood types and the process parameters is necessary in order to obtain deep engraving without carbonization and a homogeneous carving.