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.     

Diode-pumped Q-switched Nd:GdVO4/KTP green laser formed with a flat–flat resonator

A diode-pumped acousto-optically Q-switched intracavity frequency-doubled Nd:GdVO₄/KTP green laser formed with a flat–flat resonator was demonstrated. 3.05 W of average green output power at pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 40 kHz was obtained with an optical conversion efficiency of 18.4%, the effective intracavity frequency-doubling efficiency was 57%. At the incident pump power of 15 W, the shortest laser pulse occurred at PRF of 25 kHz with FWHM width of 14 ns, yielding the highest peak power of 7.44 kW; while the largest pulse energy of 0.14 mJ was achieved at PRF of 15 kHz.     

A diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4 laser with a GaAs saturable absorption

We have demonstrated a passively Q-switched operation of Nd:GdVO₄ laser in which a GaAs crystal is used as the saturable absorber for the first time as far as we know. A maximum average output power of 1.64 W was obtained at an incident pump power of 12 W, the corresponding optical conversion efficiency and peak power were 13.7% and 116.8 W, respectively. The maximum peak energy obtained in the experiment by 50% transmission couple was 19 μJ.     

Doubly Q-switched intracavity-frequency-doubled c-cut Nd:GdVO4/KTP green laser with AO and GaAs

By simultaneously using both active and passive Q-switches in the same cavity, a diode-pumped doubly Q-switched intracavity-frequency-doubled c-cut Nd:GdVO₄/KTP green laser with acoustic-optic (AO) modulator and GaAs semiconductor saturable absorber is realized. A comparison between c-cut and a-cut Nd:GdVO₄ crystals shows that the doubly Q-switched c-cut Nd:GdVO₄/KTP green laser can generate narrower pulse and higher peak power when the incident pump power is higher than 4.4 W. In addition, the doubly Q-switched c-cut Nd:GdVO₄/KTP green laser can generate more symmetric and shorter pulse in comparison with singly AO- or GaAs-Q-switched laser. The coupled rate equations are used to simulate the process of these lasers.     

Passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4 laser with GaAs saturable absorber

A xenon flash-lamp-pumped, passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO₄ laser with GaAs semiconductor saturable absorber is demonstrated. The static laser performance is investigated and the static output is 52 mJ when the pump energy is 9.45 J. The dynamic laser has the highest slope efficiency when the GaAs wafer is both the saturable absorber and output coupler. Pulses with duration of 64 ns and dynamic output of 47.6 mJ are obtained when the pump energy is 9.45 J. The highest dynamic–static ratio is 0.9:1. The coupled rate equations are used to simulate the Q-switched process of laser. The theoretical and experimental results are compared and discussed.     

Passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4 laser with In0.25Ga0.75As being an output coupler

We report a diode-end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO₄ laser operating at 1.06 μm with In_0.25Ga_0.75As being the saturable absorber as well as an output coupler. Q-switched pulses with a pulse duration of 20 ns, pulse energy 4.2 μJ and pulse repetition rate 200 kHz were produced, corresponding to peak power of 210 W.     

Laser diode pumped actively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4 self-Raman laser operating at 1173 nm

A laser diode pumped actively Q-switched Nd:GdVO₄ self-Raman laser operating at 1173 nm is presented. The maximum output power was 2.26 W at an incident pump power of 18 W, with the corresponding optical conversion efficiency of 12.6%. Two different resonator configurations were investigated in order to achieve high output power and efficiency.     

Efficient fourth harmonic UV generation of passively Q-switched Nd:GdVO4/Cr:YAG lasers

A coherent UV passively Q-switched diode pumped Nd:GdVO₄ laser source is proposed. During pumping of the β-BBO crystal a stable light with power 0.6 W with wavelength 532 nm and pulse duration 9 ns at frequency repetition 16 kHz was applied. The output UV light has a power about 79 mW at wavelength 266 nm during diode-pumping with 8 W incident light.     

High power diode-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locking Nd:GdVO4 laser at 912 nm

A high power diode-end-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locking (QML) Nd:GdVO₄ laser at 912 nm was demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. A Z-type laser cavity with Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystals as the intracavity saturable absorber were employed in the experiments. Influence of the initial transmission (T_U) of the saturable absorber on the QML laser performance was investigated. Using the T_U = 95% Cr⁴⁺:YAG, as much as an average output power of 2.0 W pulsed 912 nm laser was produced at an absorbed pump power of 25.0 W, then the repetition rates of the Q-switched envelope and the mode-locking pulse were ~ 224 kHz and ~ 160 MHz, respectively. Whereas the maximum output power was reduced to 1.3 W using the T_U = 90% Cr⁴⁺:YAG, we obtained a 100% modulation depth for the mode-locking pulses inside the Q-switched envelope.     

High-power diode-end-pumped CW Nd:GdVO4 laser

We report on a high-power diode-end-pumped CW Nd:GdVO₄ laser. Under the pump power of 39.5 W, a maximum output power of 19.8 W and a slope efficiency of 58.5% were obtained. The beam quality M² at maximum output power was measured to be around 2.62. The thermal focal length in Nd:GdVO₄ crystal under the pump power from 22 to 40.6 W was measured. The pump-induced damage threshold was estimated to be 28.6 kW/cm².     

Passively Q-switched Nd:LuVO4 laser using Cr:YAG as saturable absorber

A passively Q-switched all solid-state Nd:LuVO₄ 1.06 μm laser was demonstrated by using Cr⁴⁺:YAG as saturable absorber. The characteristics of average output power, pulse width, repetition rate, pulse energy, and peak power were studied with different output couplings and initial transmission of saturable absorbers. When output coupling with the transmission of 20% was used, the shortest pulse width of 16 ns at the repetition rate of 12.5 kHz was obtained, which results in the pulse energy of 71 μJ and peak power of 4.43 kW with the initial transmission of 70% of Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal.     

A comparative study of continuous laser operation on the F3/2-I9/2 transitions of Nd:GdVO4 and Nd:YVO4 crystals

A comparative study of Nd:GdVO₄ and Nd:YVO₄ crystal lasers pumped by a fiber-coupled diode array has been conducted at the ⁴F_3/2-⁴I_9/2 transitions wavelengths of 912 nm and 914 nm, as well as when intracavity frequency-doubled to 456 nm and 457 nm, respectively. At the fundamental wavelength of 912 nm and second harmonic wavelength of 456 nm, maximum output powers from the Nd:GdVO₄ crystal laser were 7.85 W and 4.6 W at a pump power of 29 W. All the results obtained from Nd:GdVO₄ were superior to those of Nd:YVO₄, indicating that Nd:GdVO₄ is a more efficient laser crystal than Nd:YVO₄ for laser operation on the ⁴F_3/2-⁴I_9/2 transitions.     

Passively Q-switched laser operation in a composite Nd:YVO4/Nd:YVO4/Nd:YVO4 crystal with a GaAs saturable absorber

By using a piece of GaAs wafer as the saturable absorber, the performance of the passively Q-switched composite Nd:YVO₄ laser with different output couplers has been demonstrated for the first time as far as we know. The largest continuous wave output power of 1.52 W is obtained at the incident pump power of 5.31 W, giving an optical conversion efficiency of 28.7% and a slope efficiency of 30.2%. The shortest pulse width of 11 ns, the largest single-pulse energy of 2.49 μJ and the highest peak power of 190 W are also obtained.     

Compact, efficient diode-end-pumped Nd:GdVO4 slab continuous-wave 912-nm laser

A fiber-coupled laser-diode (LD) end-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ slab continuous-wave (CW) 912-nm laser and an LD bar end-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ slab CW 912-nm laser are both demonstrated in this paper. Using the fiber-coupled LD of end-pumped type, a highest CW 912-nm laser output power of 10.17 W is obtained with a high optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 24.6% and a slope efficiency of 34.5%. The measured M² factors of beam quality in x and y directions are 5.3 and 5.1, respectively. Besides, an LD bar of end-pumped type is used to realize CW 912-nm laser output, which has the advantages of compactness and low cost. When the pump power is 38.8 W, the output power is 8.87 W and the measured M² factors of beam quality in x and y directions are 16 and 1.31, respectively. In order to improve the beam quality of the 912-nm laser at x direction, a new quasi-concentric laser resonator will be designed, and an LD bar end-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ slab high-power CW 912-nm TEM₀₀ laser will be realized in the future.     

Continuous-wave diode-laser end-pumped Nd:YVO4/KTP high-power solid-state green laser

A simple folded-cavity used for intracavity frequency-doubled Nd:YVO₄ laser was analyzed by transmission matrix and numerical calculation. We have selected a set of proper cavity parameters which can be used readily by operating at high power levels with low threshold, high efficiency, and wide dynamic operating range. 5.6-W TEM₀₀ green laser has been obtained at a 22-W pumping power and with an optical–optical conversion efficiency of 25.5%.     

The acousto-optic Q-switched mode-locking Nd:YVO4 laser

Q-switched mode locking (QML) has been observed in acousto-optic Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser that contained no mode-locking components. It was found that QML was easily realized in a long cavity and the modulation depth was observed to increase with increased cavity length. The maximum modulation depth was as high as 90%. This phenomenon is explained by the introduction of gain-related effect in the gain medium. The longitudinal modes at higher frequency, than the central frequency of the gain profile, experience positive guiding, which results in mode locking of these modes.     

LD-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 infrared and green lasers

A laser diode directly end-pumped, passively Q-switched Nd:YVO₄/Cr:YAG laser is presented in this paper. With 600 mW incident pump laser, Q-switched 1064 nm laser with an average power of 138 mW, pulse width of 19.8 ns, repetition rate of 170.1 kHz and peak power of 40.96 W is obtained. When a KTP crystal was inserted into the cavity, Q-switched 532 nm laser with an average power of 56 mW, pulse width of 28.4 ns, repetition rate of 118.2 kHz and peak power of 16.7 W is obtained at last.     

LD连续泵浦Nd:YVO4声光调Q激光器

 利用半导体激光器（LD）连续单端泵浦Nd:YVO₄晶体，实现了声光调Q输出1 064nm的短脉冲。分析并用实验验证了不同透过率输出耦合镜及不同重复频率条件下，输出调Q脉冲能量、脉冲宽度及平均输出功率的规律。在泵浦功率为20.7W，重复频率为50kHz时，获得了最大平均输出功率为5.72W的脉冲，光 光转换效率为28%，斜效率为32.4%；在重复频率为10kHz时，最大单脉冲能量为0.286mJ，脉宽为22ns，峰值功率为13kW。     

LD抽运的折叠腔Nd∶YVO4/KTP倍频红光激光器

对LD端面抽运的Nd∶YVO₄/KTP腔内倍频激光器的三镜折叠腔结构进行优化设计,研究了总腔长、输入镜曲率半径和Nd∶YVO₄和KTP晶体的热效应对激光谐振腔的稳定区域、Nd∶YVO₄晶体内基模光束半径的影响。实验结果表明:该方法所得出的结论与理论相吻合。在实验中比较了折叠腔不同折叠角度的红光输出功率,并获得了最佳折叠角度为25°,其有效倍频效率为10.8%。最后使用基频光的偏振特性与KTP的相位匹配之间的关系对实验结果进行理论解释。     

High-power end-pumped CW Nd:GdVO4 laser formed with a flat–flat cavity

Formed with a flat–flat resonator, a diode-laser-array end-pumped CW Nd:GdVO₄ laser at 1.06 μm, capable of generating 8.6 W of TEM₀₀ output power with optical conversion efficiency of 43% and slope efficiency of 48%, has been developed. The laser beam was nearly diffraction limited, with the beam quality factor measured to be M²=1.22. Under the conditions of multi-mode operation, the laser was able to produce 11.2 W of low-order transverse mode radiation (M²<2) at the incident pump power of 22 W, giving an optical conversion efficiency of 51%, and a slope efficiency of 55%.