Diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YAG/SrWO4 intracavity Raman laser with high pulse energy and average output power

A diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YAG/SrWO₄ intracavity Raman laser is presented. As high as 1.78?W average power is obtained at an incident pump power of 14.9?W with a pulse repetition frequency of 21.2?kHz. The highest pulse energy is 88.1???J obtained at a pump power of 13.7?W. The obtained pulse energy and average power are much higher than those of the previously reported diode-pumped passively Q-switched intracavity Raman lasers.     

Optimization of Yb:YAG/Cr<Superscript>4+</Superscript>:YAG composite ceramics passively Q-switched microchip lasers

The laser characteristics of laser-diode end-pumped Yb:YAG/Cr⁴⁺:YAG composite ceramics microchip passively Q-switched lasers were studied by solving the coupled rate equations numerically taking into account the reabsorption of Yb:YAG ceramics at laser wavelength. Effects of the reflectivity of the output coupler, the concentrations and thickness of the saturable absorbers, and pump beam area on the laser performance were investigated analytically. The simulation results of the Yb:YAG/Cr⁴⁺:YAG composite ceramics passively Q-switched microchip lasers were in good agreement with the experimental data. Better laser performance (high peak power, short pulse width and good optical-to-optical efficiency) of the composite Yb:YAG/Cr⁴⁺:YAG ceramics passively Q-switched laser can be obtained by using a thin Cr⁴⁺:YAG ceramic with high concentration, suitable reflectivity of the output coupler and proper pump beam diameter under high pump power intensity according to our simulations.     

Pulse symmetry and pulse duration compression in a diode-pumped doubly passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 lasers with Cr4+:YAG and GaAs saturable absorbers

We present a simple technique to improve the symmetry of pulse emitted by doubly passively Q-switched lasers. Using both Cr⁴⁺:YAG and GaAs saturable absorbers in the same cavity, a diode-pumped doubly passively Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser is realized for the fist time. This laser can generate more symmetric pulse with shorter pulse width and higher peak power compared with the solely passively Q-switched laser with Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber or GaAs coupler. The pulse symmetry factor ε of such a doubly passively Q-switched laser is experimentally shown to reach 1.05. Simulations by a rate-equation model for doubly passively Q-switched laser are in close agreement with the experimental results.PACS 42.55.Xi; 42.55.Rz; 42.60.Gd     

Passive Q-switching of Pulsed and CW Nd: YAG Lasers with Cr~(4 ): YAG

Ｐａｓｓｉｖｅ　Ｑ－ｓｗｉｔｃｈｉｎｇ　ｏｆ　Ｐｕｌｓｅｄ　ａｎｄ　ＣＷ　Ｎｄ：ＹＡＧ　Ｌａｓｅｒｓ　ｗｉｔｈ　Ｃｒ￣（４＋）：ＹＡＧＰａｓｓｉｖｅＱ－ｓｗｉｔｃｈｉｎｇｏｆＰｕｌｓｅｄａｎｄＣＷＮｄ：ＹＡＧＬａｓｅｒｓｗｉｔｈＣｒ￣（４＋）：ＹＡＧ...     

Tunable subnanosecond laser pulse generation using an active mirror concept

We report (theory, experimental check) an improved approach for generation of a tunable, subnanosecond pulse (0.1–0.4 ns), based on a single pulsation (“spike”) separation from the transient oscillations in a dye laser with active mirror (AMIR). A pumping by 20–50 ns pulses from Q-switched Nd:YAG laser is considered. The separation is in original, two-spectral selective channels cavity, where the forced by AMIR quenched generation at one of the wavelength stops initially started spiking generation at the other wavelength after the first spike development. The AMIR quickly starts the quenching generation at a precisely controlled moment and with necessary intensity thus assuring the desired separation. An advantage is a high reproducibility of the separation for high (~250%) pump power fluctuations combined with tuning in large range (~20 nm). To obtain such an operation we form ~1 ns leading front pump pulse by electrooptical temporal cutting of the input pump pulse and use an optical delay line. This increases also a few times the power in the separated spike (to be ~100 kW). Our approach widens the combinations of lasers for effective applications of spike separation technique (dye lasers excited by Q-switched solid-state or Cu-vapor lasers).     

LD side-pumped passively Q-switched Yb:YAG slab laser

A quasi-continuous wave laser diode side-pumped passively Q-switched Yb:YAG slab laser with Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber has been demonstrated in order to understand the pulse properties of Yb:YAG crystal. To our knowledge the maximum 69% extraction efficiency is achieved by the system. 44 μJ pulse energy and 1.64 KW peak power with near diffraction-limited beam quality are presented at 25 Hz repetition rate. The build-up time of the Q-giant in the passively Q-switched laser is shown.     

The pulse reshaping characteristics of V:YAG in passively Q-switched Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript>/Cr:YAG laser at 1064 nm

The pulse reshaping characteristics of V:YAG in a 1064-nm Cr:YAG Q-switched laser have been demonstrated. The pulse duration is compressed by as much as 55% in contrast to Cr:YAG solely Q-switched lasers. The minimum pulse duration is 28 ns with the pulse repetition rate of 98 kHz. The stability and symmetry of the pulses are also obviously improved. The results shows V:YAG is a potential reshaping element for 1-μm pulses.     

LD预泵浦条件与Cr4+,Nd3+:YAG微片激光器的输出特性

 建立了LD预泵浦的被动调Q平平腔Cr⁴⁺,Nd³⁺:YAG微片激光器模型,分析了预泵浦参数与激光脉冲时间特性的关系,设计了LD预泵浦的Cr⁴⁺,Nd³⁺:YAG微片激光器实验,测量了不同预泵浦参数下激光单脉冲以及脉冲序列的时间特性。实验结果与数值计算结果基本符合：调节预泵浦参数使每个泵浦脉冲刚好对应输出单个激光脉冲时,固定脉冲泵浦宽度,脉冲泵浦速率随连续泵浦速率的增加呈一次函数减小;固定连续泵浦速率,脉冲泵浦速率随脉冲泵浦宽度的增加呈非线性函数减小。结果还表明,激光脉冲半高全宽随整体泵浦速率的增加而减小,峰值功率随整体泵浦速率的增加而增加;当整体泵浦速率在阈值附近变动时,激光单脉冲时间特性的变化最为明显。     

Modeling the pulse shape of Q-switched lasers to account for terminal-level relaxation

To account for the effect of lower-level relaxation,we have derived a characteristic equation for describing the laser pulse from the modified rate equations for Q-switched lasers.The pulse temporal profile is related to the ratio of the lower-level lifetime to the cavity lifetime and the number of times the population inversion density is above the threshold.By solving the coupled rate equations numerically,the effect of terminal-level lifetime on pulse temporal behaviour is analysed.The mode is applied to the case of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser that is passively Q-switched by a Cr 4+:YAG absorber.Theoretical results show good agreement with the experiments.     

LD-pumped single-frequency passively Q-switched green laser

A LD-pumped single-frequency passively Q-switched Nd: YVO₄/KTP/Cr:YAG green laser is presented. Cr:YAG plays the double role of a passive Q-switch and a Brewster plate. With 900 mW incident pump laser, single-frequency passively Q-switched green laser with average power of 86 mW, pulse width of 14.7 ns, repetition rate of 140.8 kHz and peak power of 41.6 W is obtained. Measurement shows that the pulse amplitude and period between pulses are stable within ±1.5%.     

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.     

LBO intracavity frequency doubled, Cr:YAG passively Q-switched Nd:YAG green laser

A LD-pumped, LBO intracavity frequency doubled and Cr:YAG passively Q-switched Nd:YAG green laser was reported in this letter. With 600 mW incident pump laser, Q-switched green laser with average power of 27 mW, pulse width of 15.2 ns, repetition rate of 16.4 kHz and peak power of 108.1 W was obtained.     

Compact and efficient diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO_4 laser at 1.06μm

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4/Cr4+:YAG lasers with a simple flat-flat cavity were demonstrated. The maximum average output power at 1.06 μm was 1.25 W. The highest peak power and pulse energy were 7.56 kW and 75μJ, respectively, with the pulse repetition rate of 11.1 kHz and pulse width of 10 ns at the incident pump power of 8 W.     

Diode pumped Nd:YAG laser repetitively Q-switched with Cr4+:YAG

Based on the rate equations of passively Q-switched solid state lasers, the performance of laser at a fixed pump power can be optimized through the proper choice of output coupler and the low-intensity transmission of saturable absorber. A simple expression for optimizing these two parameters is derived in this paper. We also demonstrate the performance of an efficient diode-pumpe Cr⁴⁺:YAG passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser to generate a high-repetition-ate, high-peak power 1064 nm laser pulses, which providing pulses peak power > 10 kW with high repetition rate up to 150 kHz, and the pulse width as short as 6.8 ns.     

激光二极管抽运的被动调QNd3+:YAG微晶片激光器及其稳定性

从理论和实验两个方面研究了连续激光二极管抽运的Cr~(4+):YAG被动调QNd~(3+):YAG微晶片激光器。考虑Cr~(4+):YAG饱和吸收体激发态吸收,推导了连续抽运的被动调Q微晶片激光器的速率方程,分析了微晶片参量对调Q脉冲半峰全宽和峰值功率的影响;提出了实现稳定脉冲输出的微晶片激光器设计原则。在饱和吸收体初始透过率较低(T_0≈40％)的情况下,获得了脉冲峰值功率不稳定性小于±0.7％、脉冲宽度不稳定性小于±1.0％、峰值功率高达千瓦量级的高重复频率激光输出。     

Dual-polarization electro-optical Q-switched ceramic laser

A dual-polarization electro-optical Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser was studied. By selecting the appropriate size of calcite crystals, the dual-polarization Q-switched pulse was achieved by characteristics of calcite crystal. Experimental results show that compared with the traditional single-polarization electro-optical Q-switched laser, insertion loss is reduced, dynamic to static ratio is greatly improved, thermally induced birefringence of electro-optical Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser is effective compensated. The output power of 19 W and the pulse width of 13 ns are obtained at the repetition rate of 1 kHz and pumped power of 144 W. The dynamic to static ratio is 71%. The results formed the basis for the further development of the high power and high efficiency ceramic red laser.     

被动调Q自拉曼Nd∶GdVO4激光器

对激光二极管(LD)抽运的自拉曼Nd∶GdVO4被动调Q激光器进行了详细的理论和实验研究。实验中采用Nd∶GdVO4晶体同时作为激光介质和拉曼晶体,分别用了两块不同初始透射率的Cr4 ∶YAG晶体,得到并比较了采用不同初始透射率的Cr4 ∶YAG晶体时被动调Q自拉曼激光器的性能。测量了平均输出功率、脉冲宽度和脉冲重复率随抽运功率的变化关系。当Cr4 ∶YAG的初始透射率为0.91,输入功率是5.7 W时,得到的拉曼光的最高功率为244.6 mW,相应的转换效率为4.3%。通过数值求解基频光和拉曼光空间分布的速率方程并应用到被动调Q自拉曼Nd∶GdVO4激光器。获得的理论结果与实验结果大致相符。     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched intracavity frequency doubled Nd:GdVO4/KTP green laser

A compact diode-pumped passively Q-switched intracavity frequency-doubled Nd:GdVO₄/KTP green-pulse laser was demonstrated, using Cr⁴⁺:YAG as a saturable absorber in a simple flat–flat cavity. With a 5.9 W incident pump power, a passively Q-switched green laser was obtained with an average power of 397 mW, repetition rate of 40 kHz, and pulse width of 40 ns, when the initial transmission of Cr⁴⁺:YAG was 85%. The shortest pulse width of 30 ns, the highest green peak power of 696 W and the maximum pulse energy of 21 μJ were obtained when the initial transmission of Cr⁴⁺:YAG was 70%. Under CW green operation, we obtained 440 mW output power.     

LD泵浦Nd：YAG/Cr：YAG腔外频率变换高功率紫外激光器

用KTP晶体对激光二极管端面泵浦的Nd:YAG晶体;Cr:YAG被动调Q产生的1064nm脉冲激光器进行腔外倍频,用BBO晶体四倍频产生266 nm紫外激光.用15 W的LD阵列;当LD泵浦功率为12 W的情况下;红外(1064 μm)调Q平均输出功率为2.2 W;脉冲序列周期为40 μs;脉宽为18ns;峰值功率高达4.9kW.采用KTP腔外二倍频;532nm的绿光输出平均功率为850mW;用BBO腔外四倍频;266nm的紫外光输出平均功率高达215mW，绿光-紫外光光转换效率为25.2%, 红外到紫外总的转换效率为9.8%.     

High-power, longitudinally fiber-pumped, passively Q-switched Nd:YAG oscillator-amplifier

A longitudinally fiber-pumped, passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser oscillator-power amplifier system is reported with which a maximum pulse energy of 68 mJ was achieved at high pulse stability, beam quality, and efficiency. Therefore, a compact fiber-coupling interface was developed for stacked arrays of quasi-cw diode lasers, providing a pump power of 1 kW at the fiber end.