Efficient end-pumped slab Nd:YVO4 laser with a multifolded quasi-concentric resonator

A novel end-pumped slab Nd:YVO₄ laser with a multifolded quasi-concentric resonator (FCR) is reported. This planar-folded stable resonator matches the sheet-shaped pump volume with the TEM₀₀ mode and yields highly efficiently laser operation with a good beam quality. In a prototype experiment, a 19.55-W output was achieved with a pump power of 45 W, which was single mode in one direction. In addition, the optical-to-optical efficiency reached 43.4%. After introducing a telescope system into the folding plane, a 10.23-W quasi-TEM₀₀ output was obtained, and the overall efficiency was 22.7%.     

Unexpected temperature rise in end-pumped Nd3+:YAG composite slab laser

Unexpected temperature rise is observed in end-pumped YAG–Nd³⁺:YAG–YAG slab laser experimentally. The measured optical absorption spectrum of undoped YAG in 780–830 nm indicates an absorption coefficient of 0.015 cm^?1 at 808 nm. The influence of the weak absorption on temperature distribution in end-pumped composite slabs is analyzed numerically and a good agreement with infrared measurement is achieved. The results of finite element analysis show that longer heat sinks and wider slabs bring lower temperature.     

Diode end-pumped high-efficiency Nd:YAG laser

A close-coupled scheme has been developed to end-pump the Nd:YAG rod using diode lasers tuned to 808 nm. By using a single diode laser, an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of about 40% has been demonstrated in the multimode operation at 1064 nm.     

Compact high-power end-pumped Nd:YAG laser

We present a compact diode- and end-pumped Nd:YAG laser for material processing with an output power of 238 W, an optical-to-optical efficiency of 48% and a slope efficiency of 60%. This is to the best of our knowledge the highest optical efficiency for a high-power end-pumped Nd:YAG laser.     

A laser-diode-pumped acoustic-optic Q-switched Nd:YVO4 slab laser with a hybrid resonator

A 32.1 W laser-diode-stack pumped acoustic-optic Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ slab laser with hybrid resonator at 1064 nm was demonstrated with the pumping power of 112 W and repetition rate of 40 kHz, the pulse duration was 32.47 ns. The slope efficiency and optical-to-optical efficiency were 37 and 28.7%, respectively. At the repetition rate of 20 kHz and pumping power of 90 W, the average output power and pulse duration were 20.4 W and 20.43 ns, respectively. With the pumping power of 112 W, the beam quality M² factors in CW operation were measured to be 1.3 in stable direction and 1.6 in unstable direction.     

High beam quality and compact diode end-pumped Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> slab laser with a hybrid resonator

A compact, high power and high beam quality diode-end-pumped CW Nd:YVO₄ slab 1064 nm laser with a hybrid resonator is demonstrated. The maximum output power of 23.0 W is obtained under the pump power of 66.7 W, which gives the slope efficiency and optical conversion efficiency of 52.0 and 34.0%, respectively. The beam quality M² factors are measured to be 1.5 in the unstable direction and 1.7 in the stable direction. The power stability of the LD end-pumped slab laser at an output power of 19 W is measured to be 0.7% for half an hour operation.     

Diode end-pumped high-power Q-switched double Nd:YAG slab laser and its efficient near-field second-harmonic generation

We reported on an all-solid-state double Nd:YAG slab laser. The laser was based on two diode end-pumped Nd:YAG slabs and a stable-unstable hybrid resonator. A cw output of 189 W and an average Q-switched output of 169 W at 10 kHz with an M(2) factor of 1.5 in the slow direction and 1.7 in the fast direction were obtained. We demonstrated efficient near-field frequency doubling by imaging the one-dimensional top-hat near-field to a lithium triborate frequency doubler. We obtained 93 W green light at 10 kHz with a pulse width of 10.7 ns. The efficiency of second-harmonic generation was up to 57%.     

Propagation parameters of the beam extracted from a diode pumped Nd:YAG ceramic slab laser with a hybrid stable–unstable resonator

We analyze the propagation properties of the beam extracted from a diode pumped ceramic Nd:YAG slab laser adopting a hybrid stable–unstable resonator. Such a resonator produces a beam characterized by an Hermite–Gauss mixture-like distribution in one transverse direction and a hard-edge diffracted distribution on the other transverse direction. The beam propagation parameters M_x² and M_y² are measured for different values of the diodes driving current. We obtain a beam parameter product smaller than 3 mm mrad in both transverse directions and in the whole range of powers, up to an extraction of 220 W in a QCW regime.     

Compact corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab laser

Corner-pumping is a new pumping scheme in diode-pumped all-solid-state lasers, having such advantages as high pump efficiency, favorable pump uniformity and low cost. Compact corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab lasers at 1064 nm with low or medium output powers and high efficiency are demonstrated in this paper. Combined with intracavity frequency doubling by a LBO crystal, a corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab 532 nm green laser with a stable output is realized successfully. The experimental results show that corner-pumping can reduce laser costs greatly, release the thermal effects of slab crystals and improve the output beam quality, and that the new pumping scheme is feasible in the design of diode-pumped all-solid-state lasers with low or medium output powers.     

Efficient corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab laser

A corner-pumped type is a new pumping type in the diode-pumped all-solid-state lasers, which has the advantages of high pump efficiency and favourable pump uniformity. A highly efficient corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab laser is demonstrated in this paper. The maximal continuous-wave output power of the 1064~nm laser is up to 18.57~W with a slope efficiency and an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 44.9{\%} and 39.8{\%}, respectively. Inserting an acousto-optic $Q$-switch in the cavity, the highest average output power of the quasi-continuous wave 1064~nm laser of 6.73~W is obtained at a repetition rate of 9.26~kHz. The experimental results show that a corner-pumped type is a kind of feasible schedules in the design of diode-pumped all-solid-state lasers with low or medium output powers.     

Laser diode partially end-pumped electro-optically Q-switched Yb:YAG slab laser

A laser diode partially end-pumped, electro-optically Q-switched, Yb:Y_3Al_5O_(12)(Yb:YAG) slab laser was reported. We obtained output energy of 14.6 mJ/pulse with a pulse width of 30 ns at a repetition frequency of 2 k Hz, and the corresponding peak power was 480 kW. The beam quality factors M~2 in the unstable direction and the stable direction was 1.32 and 1.25, respectively.     

Efficient end-pumped Q-switched 1053 nm Nd:YLF laser with a plane-parallel resonator

In this study, a compact and efficient Nd:YLF laser at 1053 nm has been reported without inserting optical intracavity element to suppress the stronger line of 1047 nm. According to theoretical analysis and calculation, the thermal focal length of 1047 nm is negative while that of 1053 nm is positive in plane-parallel resonator. Hence 1053 nm laser was stable in this cavity. In our experiment, 7.5 W laser output at σ-polarized 1053 nm has been obtained with optical–optical efficiency of 38.8%. As the pulse repetition rate is 20 kHz, the pulse width is 50 ns and the peak power is calculated to be 7.5 kW.     

Efficient multiple-longitudinally diode laser pumped Nd:YAG slab laser

The operation of an eightfold longitudinally diode laser pumped 1.06m cw Nd:YAG slab laser is demonstrated. The 809 nm diode radiation is focused through a dichroic coating into each laser channel starting from the reflection points of the 1.06m beam in the slab crystal. At an absorbed pump power in the crystal of 2830 mW a maximum cw TEM₀₀ output of 1075 mW was achieved with a corresponding slope efficiency of 42.5%.     

交叉棱镜腔Nd:YAG板条激光器

对稳定和非稳共焦型Nd:YAG板条激光器的特性作了理论分析和实验研究.证实了使用交叉棱镜腔的流动空气-水混合冷却板条激光器有高的光束质量和对棱镜失调的不灵敏性,可望获得某些实际应用.关键词:交叉棱镜腔,板条激光器.     

Diode end-pumped 1123-nm Nd:YAG laser with 2.6-W output power

We present a compact and high output power diode end-pumped Nd:YAG laser which operates at the wavelength of 1123 nm. Continuous wave (CW) laser output of 2.6 W was achieved at the incident pump power of 15.9 W, indicating an overall optical-optical conversion efficiency of 16.4%, and the slope efficiency was 18%.     

250 W end-pumped Nd:YAG laser with direct pumping into the upper laser level

A high-power longitudinally pumped Nd:YAG laser using direct pumping into the upper laser level is demonstrated. With an absorbed pump power of 438 W an output power of 250 W was realized, which results in an optical-to-optical efficiency of 57%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a high-output power 885 nm pumped laser design.     

108 W Nd: YAG ceramic laser with birefringence compensation resonator

The quartz rotator's effective birefringence compensation for ceramic Nd:YAG rods has been first demonstrated. Furthermore, a high output power continuous-wave laser is presented based on an optimized resonator made up of four Nd:YAG ceramic rods. By an appropriate design of the resonator, an output power of 108 W at 1064 nm is obtained. The corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 16.8% and the slope efficiency is 28.1%. Meanwhile, the numerical analysis for output power is detailed.     

紧凑型激光二极管抽运全固态355 nm连续波紫外激光器

报道了一台激光二极管端面抽运Nd:YVO₄晶体内腔三倍频355 nm激光连续输出的全固态紫外激光器.激光腔采用紧凑型简单凹平直腔,腔长仅为70 mm.利用两块LBO晶体进行腔内倍频、和频,当注入抽运功率为2527 W时,获得最大功率为306 mW的355 nm连续波输出,光光转换效率为012％,输出功率短期不稳定性为53%,355 nm激光输出光束质量良好.通过采用内腔倍频技术和设计合理的腔参数,实现了中小功率连续输出的全固态紫外激光器的小型化、便携化,进一步拓宽了紫外激光器 关键词： 激光二极管端面抽运 内腔三倍频 连续波 355 nm激光     

Edge-pumped, folded zig-zag Nd:YAG slab laser

 We report the design and performance of conduction-cooled, edge-pumped, folded zig-zag continuous wave Nd:YAG slab laser. The Nd:YAG slab is pumped with waveguide coupled laser diode bars. The coupling efficiency of waveguide to laser diode radiation is 97%. In a folded zig-zag resonator, a maximum output power of 37 W in multimode operation is achieved for an incident pump power of nearly 180 W on the Nd:YAG slab. This corresponds to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 20% and slope efficiency of 32%. We obtained more than 10 W of output power with the beam quality factors in the width dimension and in the thickness dimension equal to 8.