Narrow resonances of two-photon absorption of super-narrow pulses in a gas

First cw laser oscillation with thresholds below 1 mW was observed for various B¹П_u → X¹ ∑ _g ⁺ transitions of diatomic molecular sodium excited by different argon laser lines in the range of 454–488 nm. For pump powers of 0.5 W output powers up to 3 mW and single-pass gain up to 0.1 cm⁻¹ were obtained. Some properties of the heat pipe laser system are discussed.     

Non-critically phase-matched,Ti:Sapphire-pumped picosecond optical parametric oscillator using LiB3O5

We report a new source of high-repetition rate and widely tunable picosecond pulses for the near infrared. A singly resonant, cw, picosecond optical parametric oscillator based on temperature-tuned LiB₃O₅ and synchronously pumped by 1.8 ps pulses from a self-mode-locked Ti:Sapphire laser is demonstrated. The oscillator can provide average output powers of up to 90 mW under non-critical type-I phase matching at a pulse repetition rate of 81 MHz. Without dispersion compensation, transform-limited signal pulses with 720 fs durations have been generated at 1.2 times threshold. With the available mirror set, signal tuning over 1.374–1.530 µm and idler tuning over 1.676–1.828 µm is demonstrated for a range of pump wavelengths and phase-matching temperatures. With additional mirrors, continuous tuning throughout 1–2.7 µm should be readily attainable with a single LiB₃O₅ crystal.     

Effect of Tm concentration on the tunability of the YLF laser in the 1.9 µm region

We describe the continuous-wave (cw) operation of a LiYF₄ laser based on crystals doped with different concentrations of Tm³⁺. We observed the fluorescence spectra from the upper laser level when the crystal is placed inside the laser resonator, in the same optical environment of the coherent emission. We measured the laser intensity as a function of pump power and obtained a 24% slope efficiency by selecting a suitable orientation of the crystal. Using all this information, we were able to demonstrate laser tunability at 1.9 µm in a 50 cm^–1 wide interval.     

Continuous wave 1.6 μm laser action in Er doped garnets at room temperature⋆

We report on room-temperature cw laser action of Er³⁺: Yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG) and Er³⁺: Yttrium-gallium-garnet (YGG) crystals at 1.64 m. The laser operates from the metastable⁴ I _13/2 manifold into an upper Stark level of the⁴ I _15/2 ground-state manifold of Er³⁺. Due to reabsorption losses, the Er³⁺ concentration of the laser crystals must be low. Laser pumping at a wavelength of 647.1 nm yields lowest thresholds around 30 mW and slope efficiencies up to 12.7% for Er:YAG. Laser operation in Er:YGG is achieved with higher thresholds of about 200 mW and smaller slope efficiencies of 0.9%. The effective emission cross section in YAG is estimated to be _e5×10^–21 cm².Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Herbert Welling on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Diode-pumped erbium-ytterbium-glass laser passively Q-switched with a PbS semiconductor quantum-dot doped glass

Q-switched and cw operation of different diode-pumped erbium-ytterbium doped glasses at 1.5 μm has been studied in a compact microlaser setup. For Q-switching we used a novel PbS semiconductor quantum-dot doped glass which offers low saturation intensity compared with typical absorbers used and a fast time response. The cw laser delivered output powers of 35 mW with slope efficiencies of 16%. In Q-switched operation pulse energies of 1 μJ at repetition rates of 1–2 kHz and pulse durations of about 30–50 ns, depending on absorber thickness were obtained. Received: 5 June 2000 / Revised version: 29 June 2000 / Published online: 13 September 2000     

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%.     

Generation of tunable cw infrared radiation by difference frequency mixing

Tunable cw infrared radiation has been generated by noncollinear difference frequency mixing in LiIO₃, using the output of an argon ion laser at 514 nm or 488 nm and the intracavity radiation of a Rhodamine 6 G dye laser. Infrared powers up to 4 μW in multimode and 0.5 μW in single-mode operation tunable in the range of 2.3 μm to 4.6 μm have been obtained. Properties and possibilities of the noncollinear mixing geometry and the intracavity mixing system are discussed.     

Long-wavelength GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb DFB lasers emitting near 2.6 μm

We have successfully fabricated and characterized room temperature continuous wave (cw) GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb distributed feedback lasers emitting in the wavelength region between 2.499 and 2.573 μm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the longest emission wavelength realized with a GaSb-based DFB laser diode. The laser structure used for DFB processing was grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy. A DFB concept requiring no subsequent overgrowth step was used by defining first-order Cr-Bragg gratings laterally patterned to a ridge waveguide. Threshold currents smaller than 60 mA and room temperature cw output powers up to 6.5 mW were obtained. The laser diodes show single mode emission with side mode suppression ratios (SMSR) of up to 32 dB.     

Spectroscopic characterization and laser performance of diode-laser-pumped Nd: GdVO4

We have carried out a detailed spectroscopic characterization of Nd: GdVO₄, a new laser crystal with high effective absorption and emission cross sections. The accidental degeneracy of the upper⁴ F _3/2 laser level decreases the number of emission lines and creates -together with the anisotropic crystal field - high emission cross sections (7.6 × 10^–19 cm² at 1.06 µm and 300 K). In addition, the lines are strongly homogeneously broadened (1.6 nm for the 808.4 nm diode-laser pump transition). The temperature dependences of lifetime, linewidths, and cross sections have been determined. Slope efficiencies up to 57% with respect to the absorbed diode-laser pump power and output powers up to 0.8 W have been achieved at 1.06 µm from a 2 mm long crystal. Intracavity second-harmonic generation, using a KTP crystal, is demonstrated.