Efficient and high-power intracavity frequency doubled diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG/KTP continuous wave (CW) green laser

Highly efficient continuous wave (CW) green beam generation by intracavity frequency doubling of a diode side-pumped Nd:YAG laser using a single pump head based on a copper-coated flow tube in a V-shaped cavity geometry has been demonstrated. A maximum 30.5 W of CW green power was obtained at a total diode pumping power of 260 W corresponding to 11.7% conversion efficiency of diode pump power to CW green power and 4.7% conversion efficiency of electrical power to CW green power. The performance of the laser by considering the pump power induced thermal lensing effect and the M²-parameter at the fundamental wavelength has been analyzed.     

Noise characteristics of a high-power ytterbium-doped fibre amplifier at 1083 nm

Experimental results are reported for the noise characteristics of an Yb-doped fibre amplifier pumped at 975 nm, used as a booster of a low-noise narrow-linewidth single-frequency 1083-nm wavelength laser diode. The maximum output power of the amplifier is 1.2 W with a gain larger than 30 dB. An increase of the intensity-noise spectral density relative to the signal, by approximately 6.5 dB, is introduced by the amplification process, due to signal-amplified spontaneous-emission (ASE) beat noise. A remarkable increase of the noise level with decreasing frequency is observed below ≈35 kHz, probably due to technical noise of the amplifier pump diodes. The spectral broadening due to amplifier phase noise was measured to be less than 300 Hz with a 5-kHz-linewidth Nd:YAG laser and that for the 300-kHz-linewidth diode laser at 1083 nm is therefore expected to be in the same range. Received: 5 October 1999 / Revised version: 2 December 1999 / Published online: 24 March 2000     

Thermo-optic effects affecting the high pump power end pumped solid state lasers: Modeling and analysis

A complete solution of the thermal effect for continuous wave laser diode array fiber coupled high pump power end pumped actively solid state laser is presented. In this paper, the thermal loading resulted from energy transfer up-conversion effect for laser operated under different pulse repetition frequency has been taken into account in the overall thermal effects. The thermal loading transfer the absorbed pump power into non-uniform temperature distribution in the laser rod, and thus results in thermal strain, thermal stress, thermal dispersion of index, and thermally induced diffraction losses. For a practical laser cavity configuration containing the internal optical elements, we use spherical aberration theory to give a better explanation of experimental results via calculating diffraction losses quantitatively. According to analysis of thermal focal length experimental data, the results show that our calculated value of thermal loading under fixed Nd³⁺ doped concentration laser crystal is not a constant but a function of pump power instead. The theoretical predicted curve of thermal focal length based on our model is in good agreement with experimental measurements. At low pump power, the thermal loading is a linear function varying with pump power, but it begins to saturate at pump powers exceeding 6 W. This phenomenon is consistent with our physical intuitions.     

Characteristics of Cladding-Pumped Short Er3+/Yb3+ Codoped Single Mode Phosphate Glass Fibre

We experimentally investigate the laser characteristics of a series of short pieces of newly-developed Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ codoped single mode phosphate glass fibres via the cladding pump of a 976nm multimode laser diode. A stablecontinuous-wave single transverse mode laser with over 85mW at 1553nm is generated from a 5.5-cm-long active fibre. Single mode laser output power per unit length is up to 15mW/cm. Moreover, the slope efficiency is 11.8% when the pump power is below 940mW and the 3dB linewidth is 0.06nm at the maximum pump power. The numerical simulation results show that the laser emission slope efficiency can exceed 20% by means of increasing the coupling efficiency of the pump to the fibre core further.     

Dispersion measurement technique based on the self-seeding laser oscillation of a Fabry-Perot laser diode

A simple dispersion measurement technique has been proposed and demonstrated by using the self-seeding laser oscillation of a Fabry-Perot laser diode through an optical closed-loop path. When the multi-mode optical pulses emitted from the laser are re-injected into the laser after traversing a fiber-under-test, a single mode laser oscillation occurs through the closed-loop path due to the group velocity difference between the pulses of different wavelengths. We measured the dispersion parameter of the fiber-under-test from the modulation frequency changes required to induce single-mode laser oscillations through the optical closed-loop path. The maximum measurement error was less than 1.5% for the optical fibers as compared with a commercial instrument.     

激光二极管泵浦的Nd：YVO4单频绿光激光器

对激光二极管泵浦单频连续运行的Ｎｄ：ＹＶＯ４腔内倍频激光器进行了理论和实验研究，通过精密调控Ｎｄ：ＹＶＯ４，ＫＴＰ及泵浦泵温度以达到有关参数的最佳匹配，从而获得了较稳定的单横模，单纵模，单偏振的绿光输出，实测最大单频录光功率为７．５ｍＷ，此时会聚磁浦光功率约为４３０ｍＷ，已超过阈值泵浦功率１３倍以上。     

全固态Cr:LiSAF激光器的研究

本文报道了红光激光二极管泵浦的Cr:LiSAF激光器.采用纵向泵浦的平凹腔结构,在脉冲方式泵浦下,当泵浦平均功率为54mW,重复频率为200Hz时得到平均功率为5mW的激光输出,在连续波状态下,测得了输出功率随泵浦功率的变化曲线.激光输出的中心波长为873nm.     

Efficient quasi-three-level Nd:YAG laser at 946 nm pumped by a tunable external cavity tapered diode laser

Using a tunable external cavity tapered diode laser (ECDL) pumped quasi-three-level Nd:YAG laser, a fivefold reduction in threshold and twofold increase in slope efficiency is demonstrated when compared to a traditional broad area diode laser pump source. A TEM₀₀ power of 800 mW with 65% slope efficiency is obtained, the highest reported TEM₀₀ power from any 946 nm Nd:YAG laser pumped by a single emitter diode laser pump source. A quantum efficiency of 0.85 has been estimated from experimental data using a simple quasi-three-level model. The reported value is in good agreement with published values, suggesting that the model is adequate. Improvement of the 946 nm laser due to the ECDL's narrow spectrum proves to be less significant when compared to its spatial quality, inferring a broad spectrum tapered diode laser pump source may be most practical. Experimental confirmation of such setup is given.     

Selection of suitable pump diode laser parameters and their effects on efficiency and optimum length of Yb-doped double clad fiber lasers

The effects of diode laser pump parameters on the fiber laser performance are investigated numerically and experimentally. According to our simulation results, the wide spectrum pump diode laser centered at 976 nm wavelength will reduce the fiber laser optical efficiency and increase the optimal fiber length. The effect of pump wavelength on the fiber laser optical efficiency and the output power stability has also been studied. 976 nm pump wavelength is more efficient but the output power at this wavelength is more dependent on the pump wavelength tolerance. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical ones.     

线阵激光二极管侧面抽运Nd∶YAG激光器特性研究

依据四能级系统速率方程 ,推导出了多横模振荡固体激光器输出与输入参量的关系。对二极管抽运固体激光器中线阵激光二极管三向对称侧面抽运结构 ,计算了抽运光强分布 ,并就激光器的阈值抽运功率、近阈值条件下的斜率效率、输出功率和光束质量等与抽运参量的关系 ,进行了数值计算。由计算结果看出 ,线阵激光二极管侧面抽运Nd∶YAG激光器中晶体半径和抽运光束腰半径是影响输出激光功率和光束质量的主要因素 ,并通过在谐振腔中加小孔选模 ,使光束质量得到明显改善。选择了一组三向侧面抽运结构参量进行了实验验证 ,实验结果与理论计算一致。     

Broadband Er-Yb co-doped superfluorescent fiber source

In this paper, extensive experimental results on broad-band double cladding Er³⁺-Yb³⁺ co-doped superfluorescent fiber sources (SFSs), characterizing their output power, mean wavelength, and bandwidth (BW) stability with variations of pump power, pump wavelength, and fiber temperature, have been reported. For a 55-cm fiber, SFS power from 3.7755 (maximum BW condition of more than 80 nm) to 9.1837 mW (maximum power condition, BW is about 34 nm) has been achieved. The SFS mean wavelength dependence on pump wavelength is highly pump temperature sensitive, and can be reduced to zero in a chosen pump temperature field. The intrinsic variation of the SFS mean wavelength λ_m with fiber temperature is also measured, and a linear variation from 15 to 45 °C with a slop of −0.053 nm/°C for L_f = 100 cm and −0.04 nm/°C for L_f = 55 cm is found.     

Three-level operation of a diode-bar-pumped Yb:S-FAP laser

We present an all solid-state Yb:S-FAP laser system running on the three-level laser transition at 985 nm. The pump source was a high fill-factor laser diode bar, with the output reformatted using a two-mirror beamshaping system to produce a rectangular pump beam that focused to a square spot. A nearly on-axis multipassing system was used to obtain four pump passes through a 1.6 mm Yb:S-FAP laser crystal. Gain-switched three-level laser output was achieved with an efficiency of 4.3% with respect to incident pump power. Electro-optic Q-switching produced 0.12 mJ pulses for a pump pulse energy of 11 mJ. Intra-cavity second-harmonic generation yielded a maximum pulse energy at 492.5 nm of 12 μJ.     

Nonlinear optical correction of the pulse shape from a directly modulated DFB laser

In this work, the effect of modulation instability (MI) in optical fiber is used to reshape nanosecond pulses form a directly modulated diode laser. Our configuration includes a fiber where MI causes the side lobes in the signal spectrum and a filter at the fiber output rejecting the side lobes. Simulations show abrupt drop of the transmission of the setup if pulse power is above some critical value. We investigated the transmission for fibers with lengths in the range between 62-m and 4.5-km. The critical power was found to be inversely proportional to the fiber length. An average scaled critical power is 2.16 W km. We demonstrated the application of the method for rejection of the transient peak in a directly modulated diode laser.     

Yb∶Y_2O_3陶瓷薄片激光器获得10.5 W连续激光输出

室温下采用中心波长约970 nm准直输出的大功率激光二极管模块作为抽运源,端面抽运双程吸收的腔型结构,抽运原子数分数为8%的Yb:Y2O3多晶透明陶瓷片获得连续激光输出。抽运阈值功率为7 W,当抽运功率达到35 W时,获得优化连续激光输出功率为10.5 W,光光转换效率为30%,斜率效率为37.5%。激光输出功率随抽运功率基本呈线性增长。采用更高功率抽运源、优化谐振腔结构和减小热效应的影响,Yb∶Y2O3陶瓷激光器的输出功率和效率将会得到进一步提高。     

Efficient laser operation and continuous-wave diode pumping of Cr2+:ZnSe single crystals

Efficient continuous-wave laser operation of Cr²⁺:ZnSe was demonstrated with an output power of 1400 mW at an absorbed pump power of 1900 mW from a Tm:YAG laser. Under continuous-wave diode pumping at 1.54 μm an output power of 15 mW was obtained from a Cr⁺²:ZnSe laser. Excited state absorption is shown to be negligible in the pump and laser spectral region. Received: 12 October 2000 / Published online: 30 November 2000     

半导体激光器在医学上的应用

半导体激光器于１９６２年问世以来，在很多领域有了迅速的发展。近年来，国际上各种波长的激光二极管的报道令人目不暇接，从而半导体激光器在医学上的应用也随着波长的扩展、高功率激光阵列的出现以及可兼容的光纤导光和激光能量参数微机控制的出现而迅速发展起来。半导体激光器具有体积小、重量轻、成本低、波长可选择等优点，在眼科、矫形、皮肤、肿瘤、牙科、妇科、泌尿科和普外科等都有应用。尤其是半导体激光器作为激光针灸与原来的中医针灸理论中的腧穴、经络理论相结合，成为一种新兴的激光针灸仪。本文主要叙述了激光与生物组织的相互作用以及半导体激光在基础医学中的一些具体应用。     

Passively Q-switched <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis>-cut Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> self-Raman laser

A passively Q-switched a-cut Nd:YVO₄ self-stimulating Raman laser using a Cr:YAG saturable absorber has been demonstrated for the first time. The maximum average output power of the self-Raman laser at 1176 nm is 347 mW at the incident pump power of 10 W with a pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 66 kHz. The pulse width, pulse energy of the 1176 nm are found to be 10 ns and 5.6 μJ. The conversion efficiency from diode laser input power to Raman output power is 3.47%.     

Compact TEM<Subscript>00</Subscript> grazing-incidence Nd:GdVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser using a folded cavity

A compact diode-side-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ laser system using a folded cavity and grazing-incidence configuration is presented. The highest multimode output power obtained was 21.8 W at 36 W of effective diode pump power. Highest optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 61.5% was achieved at 33 W of effective diode pump power with 20.3 W of multimode output power. For single-mode TEM₀₀ operation, an intracavity telescope was adopted for mode matching in the horizontal direction. Because of the folded cavity and the intracavity telescope, this laser head was the most compact to our knowledge of the TEM₀₀ grazing-incidence laser geometry. At last, an output power of 15 W was produced at 36 W of effective diode pump power. The stable Q-switching operation was also obtained. PACS 42.55.-f; 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Gd     

Efficiency of diode-pumped 1.35µm laser from Nd:KGW

A set of quasi-Continuous-Wave (CW) diode lasers has been used to pump Nd:KGW and to generate 1.35µm laser radiation at room temperature. The optical-to-optical and slope efficiencies have been measured and compared with those of Nd:YAG at identical experimental conditions.     

Efficient blue emission of ytterbium-doped Sr<Subscript>5</Subscript>(PO<Subscript>4</Subscript>)<Subscript>3</Subscript>F under quasi-three-level intracavity pumping

We report an Yb:Sr₅(PO₄)₃F (Yb:S-FAP) laser emitting at 985 nm intracavity pumped by a 912 nm diode-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ laser. A 808 nm diode laser is used to pump the Nd:GdVO₄ crystal emitting at 912 nm, and the Yb:S-FAP laser emitting at 985 nm intracavity pumped at 912 nm. With incident pump power of 17.5 W, intracavity second harmonic generation has been demonstrated with a power of 131 mW at 492.5 nm by using a LBO nonlinear crystal.