Efficient continuous wave and Q-switched operation of a dual-end-pumped <Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis>-cut Tm:YAP laser

An efficient continuous wave (CW) and Q-switched c-cut Tm:YAP laser is reported in this letter. With the dual-end-pumped convex-concave resonator, CW output power up to 13.6 W at 1.99 μm was obtained under a total incident pump power of 50 W. The corresponding slope efficiency was 34.3% and conversion efficiency was 27.2%. The active Q-switched operation of the laser had an average output power of 12.5 W at 10 kHz pulse repetition frequency, with a minimum pulse width of 126 ns. With 6 kHz pulse repetition frequency, the maximum pulse energy of 1.6 mJ was obtained. In addition, using the Tm:YAP laser as a pumping source for gain-switched Cr:ZnSe laser, as much as 4 W output power in the wavelength range of 2.5–2.6 μm was obtained.     

3W average power 4.3 μm CO2 laser

A 3 W average power CO₂ laser oscillating in the range of 4.3m (10°1 to 10°O transition) is described. At the same time, the laser can emit 100 W in the sequence band 00°2 to 10°1 (10.6m). It is based on a commercial system with continuous-wave discharge of 12 m length and a slow gas flow. It operates in the Q-switched mode at pulse repetition rates up to 15 kHz. The pulse peak power is 1 kW and the pulse duration is 200 ns. The deviation from the theoretical efficiency limit has been decreased by a factor 2.5 in our device, due to saturation of the pumping (sequence band) radiation. We predict an improvement by another factor of 5 (possible average power of 10 to 20 W), if one avoids the absorption in the discharge-free zones.     

High repetition rate LiF<Stack><Subscript>2</Subscript><Superscript>−</Superscript></Stack>: Color center laser

The efficient oscillation of LiF:F₂⁻ color center laser pumped by a compact LD-pumped Nd:YVO₄ acousto optically Q-switched laser with 30 kHz pulse repetition rate was demonstrated. The broadband oscillation with 75 μJ pulse energy and 37 kW peak power with the slope efficiency 20% was obtained. The average output power as high as 230 mW was reached. The narrow line tunable from 1.10 to 1.29 μm laser radiation with 10% conversion efficiency in the maximum of the tuning curve was achieved under pumping with 1.6 W average pump power.     

LD泵浦高功率高斜效率Nd:YVO4声光调Q激光器

报道了采用激光二极管(LD)端面泵浦Nd:YVO4双端键合晶体高平均功率高斜效率1 064 nm声光调Q激光器。通过对大功率泵浦情况下激光晶体热透镜效应进行分析和估算,优化了模式匹配及热稳腔结构参数,实现了稳定的高功率高斜效率准连续脉冲激光输出。在泵浦功率46.8 W、最高重复频率50 kHz下,获得最大平均输出功率17.6 W,光-光转换效率为37.6%,斜效率达70.1%,脉冲宽度51.3 ns;在最低重复频率10 kHz下,获得最大单脉冲能量0.91 mJ,峰值功率为46.2 kW,脉冲宽度为19.8 ns。     

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.     

Compact, Low Threshold Nd^3＋：YVO4 Self-Raman Laser at 1178 nm

A compact low-threshold Raman laser at 1178 nm is experimentally realized by using a diode-end-pumped actively Q-switched Nd^3＋ ：YVO4 self-Raman laser. The threshold is 370mW at a pulse repetition frequency of S kHz. The maximum Raman laser output is 182 m W with the pulse duration smaller than 20 ns at a pulse repetition frequency of 30kHz with 1.8 W incident power. The optical efficiency from the incident power to the Raman laser is 10% and the slope efficiency is 13.5%.     

High-Pulse-Energy Passively <Emphasis Type="Italic">Q</Emphasis>-Switched 1,123 nm Laser with a Nd:GdYAG Mixed Garnet as Laser Medium

We demonstrate a diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdYAG mixed garnet laser at 1,123 nm. A Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal with an initial transmission of 97% is used as the saturable absorber. The maximum average output power is 1.05 W at an absorbed pumping power of 8.12 W. A single-pulse energy can reach up to 78.9 μJ, with a corresponding pulse repetition rate of 13.3 kHz.     

A 100 kHz Narrow-Pulse-Width Mid-Infrared Optical Parametric Oscillator Based on PPMgLN Crystal

We report a narrow pulse width optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled MgO:LiNbO₃ (PPMgLN) with a high repetition rate under quasi-phase matched conditions. When the maximum pumping power of the 1,064-nm laser was 14.57 W, the acousto-optical (A-O) Q-switch repetition rate was 100 kHz, and the PPMgLN crystal grating period was 29.5 μm. A 1,474-nm signal light output power of 4.21 W and a 3,828 nm idler light output power of 1.547 W were obtained, corresponding to a pulse width of 9.52 ns and 9.65 ns, respectively. The overall optical–optical conversion efficiency was 39.5%. Additionally, by changing the temperature from 25°C to 150°C, a tunable signal wavelength of 1,474–1,499 nm and idler wavelength at 3,676–3,828 nm of the output laser were achieved.     

Continuous-wave and Q-switched laser operation of Nd:Gd0.18Y0.82VO4 mixed crystal

Efficient continuous-wave (cw), passively Q-switched, and actively Q-switched laser operations are demonstrated with a mixed vanadate crystal of Nd:Gd_0.18Y_0.82VO₄ under diode pumping. In a cw operation, an output power of 8.25 W is obtained at a maximum available incident pump power (P_in) of 15 W, with a slope efficiency of 56%. Using a Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal of initial transmission of 62% as the saturable absorber for Q-switching, an average output power of 3.05 W is generated at pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 16.7 kHz when the laser is pumped with the same maximum P_in. The pulse energy, pulse duration, and peak power are 183.3 μJ, 6.0 ns, and 30.6 kW, respectively. When actively Q-switched by an acousto-optic modulator, the laser produces an average output power of 5.5 W at PRF of 30 kHz with 16.2 W of pump power incident upon the laser crystal. The pulse energy, duration, and peak power are measured to be 183 μJ, 10.5 ns, and 17.5 kW, respectively.     

High-power high-repetition-rate acousto-optically Q-switched 1342 nm laser

A high-power high-repetition-rate acousto-optically Q-switched 1342 nm laser with double Nd:YVO₄ crystals pumped by fiber-coupled laser diodes is presented. The highest output power of 13.7 W was achieved with a total of 42 W pumping power in cw operation, the slope efficiency was measured as 36%, and the optical efficiency was better than 32%. In Q-switchedoperation, the highest pulse repetition rate of 100 kHz was obtained. At 50 kHz repetition rate, the laser exported 11.2 W average output power, with 60 ns average pulse width, ∼5% width stability (RMS) and ∼8% peak-power stability (RMS). At 10 kHz repetition rate, the highest average output power was measured as 6.3 W, single pulse energy was calculated as 0.63 mJ, with pulse width of 19 ns and peak-power higher than 30 kW. Combining the experimental results, we analyze and discuss some problems concerning Nd:YVO₄ crystal working at 1,342 nm wavelength. PACS 42.55.-f; 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Gd     

1318.8 nm/1338.2 nm simultaneous dual-wavelength Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

A diode-side-pumped simultaneous dual-wavelength Q-switched Nd:YAG laser around 1.3 μm is demonstrated. With the pumping power of 480 W, a peak power of 43 kW was obtained at the repetition rate of 5 kHz. The maximum average output power is up to 43 W with the slope efficiency of 20.5%, and the pulse duration is 200 ns. This dual-wavelength Q-switched laser with high peak power has a balanceable and stable proportion of dual-wavelength output. PACS 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Gd     

High repetition rate intracavity frequency doubled LD side-pumped ceramic Nd:YAG green laser based on BBO electro-optical Q-switch

a high repetition rate and high power 532 nm green laser generated by intracavity frequency doubling of a 808 nm laser diode side-pumped ceramic Nd:YAG laser based on BBO electro-optical Q-switch has been demonstrated. in the simple V-folded cavity, the maximum green laser average power 32.6 W was obtained with a pulse width of 58.5 ns at a repetition rate of 10 kHz by using a LBO crystal for frequency doubling, corresponding to a conversion efficiency of 10.9% from diode pumping power to green laser power. An instability of 1.9% was measured over a period of 30 minutes and the beam quality factors were measured to be M _x ² = 3.55, M _y ² = 3.89 at the maximum output power.     

26 mJ Total Output from a Gain-Switched Single-Mode Er3+-Doped Zblan Fiber Laser Operating at 2.8 $$ \mu $$m

We demonstrate a laser-diode-pumped gain-switched Er³⁺-doped ZrF₄-BaF₂-LaF₃-AlF₃-NaF (ZBLAN) fiber laser operating in a single transverse mode at 2.8 \( \mu \)m. The laser pulses produced offer high-pulse energies, with repetition rates ranging from 50 Hz to 10 kHz and a slope efficiency of approximately 14.3% with respect to the launched pump power. The average power at the 50 Hz repetition rate is 1.33 W, giving a maximum total output pulse energy of 26.6 mJ per pump pulse. The fiber laser operates in a single mode, with beam quality factor M² less than 1.2.     

Continuous-wave and pulsed laser performance of Nd:LuVO4 crystal

Received August 11, 2003 We report continuous-wave and actively Q-switched laser performance achieved with Nd:LuVO4 crystal for the 4F(3/2) --> 4I(1/2) transition (corresponding wavelength of 1065.8 nm) under high-power diode pumping. Continuous-wave output power of 12.55 W is obtained with an optical conversion efficiency of 50.2%. In actively Q-switched operation the average output power reaches 5.42 W at a pulse repetition frequency of 40 kHz with 18 W of pump power incident upon the crystal, yielding an optical conversion efficiency of 30.1%. The pulse energy and peak power reach 138 microJ and 16.2 kW, respectively, at a pulse repetition frequency of 25 kHz under a pump power of 14.2 W; the pulse duration is 8.5 ns.     

高效高稳定高光束质量声光调Q绿光激光器的研究

通过优化双棒串接直腔结构设计,利用大功率LD侧面抽运、声光Q开关、Ⅱ类相位匹配S-KTP内腔倍频获得高效大功率绿色激光输出.当抽运电流为45 A、重复频率为15 kHz时,激光平均功率为132 W,光—光转换效率为132％,脉宽约为120 ns.在输出130 W时,测得1 h功率不稳定度小于05%,光束质量因子M²为67.对高功率抽运情况下激光介质的热透镜效应以及谐振腔稳定运转工作区域也进行了理论分析和实验研究. 关键词： 绿光激光器 腔内倍频 声光调Q LD侧面抽运     

A High Conversion Efficiency Q-Switched Intracavity Nd:YVO_4/KTA Optical Parametric Oscillator under Direct Diode Pumping at 880nm

We report a high conversion efficiency Q-switched Nd:YVO_4/KTiOAsO_4(KTA) intracavity optical parametric oscillator(IOPO) operating near 3.5 um based on direct 880 nm laser diode(LD) pumping. A maximum average idler output power of 2.6 W with a pulse width of about 7.9 ns is achieved under an absorbed LD power of 45.4 W at a pulse repetition rate(PRR) of 10 kHz. The maximum optical-optical conversion efficiency from LD power to OPO mid-infrared(MIR) output of 6.74% is achieved. To our knowledge, this is the highest conversion efficiency for a KTA-IOPO by exploiting a Q-switched laser as the parent fundamental pump source. The beam quality factors M~2 of the MIR beam at the full output power with a PRR of 10 kHz are within 2.12 in both the horizontal and vertical directions, indicating a near Gaussian mode.     

Compact and efficient diode-pumped actively Q-switched 1319 nm Nd:YAG ceramic laser

An efficient compact diode-pumped acousto-optic actively Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser operating at 1319 nm was demonstrated. At an incident pump power of 23.7 W, an average output power of 4.8 W at a pulse repetition frequency of 30 kHz was obtained. The corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency was 20.3%. A maximum single pulse energy of 316 μJ with a pulse duration of 78.5 ns was obtained at an incident pump power of 19.4 W and a pulse repetition frequency of 10 kHz.     

AlGaInAs半导体饱和吸收体调Q特性的理论与实验研究究

利用通过金属化学气相沉积法长成的AlGaInAs饱和吸收体,对808 nm LD泵浦的Nd:YVO₄键合晶体进行被动调Q,获得了波长为1.06 mm的激光脉冲,测量了脉冲能量、脉冲宽度、脉冲重复率随泵浦功率的变化。当泵浦功率为10.57 W时,激光平均输出功率为3.45 W,斜效率为39 %,重复频率达到最大值101 kHz。当泵浦功率为8.07 W时,脉冲宽度达到最小值1.76 ns。利用速率方程对该激光器进行理论分析,计算出输出脉冲能量、峰值功率、脉冲宽度和重复频率的理论值,实验结果和理论结果基本一致。     

Diode-pumped cw and Q-switched Nd:GdVO4 laser operating at 1.34 μm

A diode-pumped 1.34 m Nd:GdVO₄ laser operating in cw and active Q-switching modes has been demonstrated. 4.15 W of cw output power was obtained at the highest attainable pump power of 12.3 W, resulting in an optical conversion efficiency of 33.7%, the slope efficiency was determined to be 37.6%. In Q-switching operation, a maximum average output power of 2.7 W was generated at pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 50 kHz, with an optical conversion efficiency of 22% and a slope efficiency of 29.2%. The laser pulses with shortest duration, highest energy and peak power were achieved at PRF of 10 kHz, the parameters being 15 ns, 160 J, and 10.7 kW, respectively. By intracavity frequency-doubling with a type II phased-matched KTP crystal, 0.62 W average power at 0.67 m was produced at a PRF of 15 kHz, the resulting pulse energy, peak power, and pulse width being 41.3 J, 2.2 kW, and 19 ns, respectively. A group of analytical formulae, based on rate equations, are presented to evaluate the operational parameters of an actively Q-switched laser. Calculated results were found to be in close consistency with the experimental data.