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

A corner-pumped type is a new pumping type in thediode-pumped all-solid-state lasers, which has the advantages ofhigh pump efficiency and favourable pump uniformity. A highlyefficient corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab laser isdemonstrated in this paper. The maximal continuous-wave output powerof the 1064~nm laser is up to 18.57~W with a slope efficiency and anoptical-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 wave1064~nm laser of 6.73~W is obtained at a repetition rate of9.26~kHz. The experimental results show that a corner-pumped type isa kind of feasible schedules in the design of diode-pumpedall-solid-state lasers with low or medium output powers.