A corner-pumped type is a new pumping type in the diode-pumped solid-state lasers, which has the advantages of high pump efficiency and favorable pump uniformity. A corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab continuous-wave 1319 nm/1338 nm dual-wavelength laser is first demonstrated in this paper. When the cavity length is 25 mm, the maximal output power is up to 7.62 W with a slope efficiency of 16.6% and an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 17%. The corresponding spectral line widths of 1319 nm laser and 1338 nm laser are 0.11 and 0.1 nm, respectively. The short-term instability of the output power is better than 1% when the pumping power is 39.5 W. The experimental results show that a corner-pumped type is a kind of feasible schedules in the design of diode-pumped solid-state 1.3 μm lasers with low or medium output powers.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1002/lapl.200910124/pdf

Compact corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab 1319 nm/1338 nm laser

Sapphire, garnet and vanadate crystals are the most prominent optical materials, and vanadates play important roles in optics, especially in lasers and nonlinear optics. Neodymium-doped yttrium vanadate (Nd:YVO4) is representative and available commercially. Based on Nd:YVO4, several vanadate crystals are being developed with the goal of fulfilling the need for differential applications and improvement of certain operational aspects, such as with pulsed lasers or high-power continuous-wave lasers. In recent years, some important effects, including energy enhancement, bistability of output performance, self-Raman frequency shifting, etc., and some novel applications, such as quantum optics, pulsed lasers modulated by the two-dimensional crystals, etc., have been discovered with vanadates as gain materials. In this paper, the preparation, characterization and laser applications of vanadate laser crystals at the lasing wavelength of 1 micrometer, including YVO4, GdVO4, LuVO4, GdxY1–xVO4 and LuxGd1–xVO4 (0 < x < 1) doped with Nd3+ and ytterbium (Yb3+) are systematically reviewed by highlighting the most recent research progress. Their specific properties are presented, generation mechanisms of novel physical effects are discussed, new applications are given and possible future applications proposed by focusing on some potential strengths.

Advances in vanadate laser crystals at a lasing wavelength of 1 micrometer

We demonstrate a compact, efficient Nd:YVO4 stable-unstable hybrid slab oscillator that was partially end pumped at 880 nm. A maximum output power of 165 W at 1064 nm was obtained with an optical-to-optical efficiency from absorbed pump power to laser output of up to 60% and a slope efficiency of up to 66%. The beam propagation factors M2 were 1.7 in the stable direction and 1.4 in the unstable direction without sidelobes.

High efficiency 165 W near-diffraction-limited Nd:YVO(4) slab oscillator pumped at 880 nm.

Thermal effects of the diode end-pumped Nd:YVO4 slab

Growth and laser characterization of mixed Nd:LuxGd1−xVO4 laser crystals

We report on a compact and highly efficient diode-end-pumped TEM00Nd:YVO4 slab laser with an output power of 103 W and beam quality M2≦1.5. The optical-to-optical efficiency was 41.5%. In electro-optically Q-switched operation, 83 W of average power at a pulse-repetition rate of 50 kHz with a pulse length of 11.3 ns was obtained. At a pulse-repetition rate of 10 kHz, 5.6 mJ of pulse energy, and 870 kW of peak power were measured.

Electro-optically Q-switched Nd:YVO4 slab laser with a high repetition rate and a short pulse width

An 110 W Nd:YVO4 slab laser with high beam quality output

We describe the operation of a near-diffraction-limited, 1064-nm electro-optically Q-switched Nd:YVO4 slab laser that is end pumped by laser-diode stacks and its efficient second-harmonic generation by using a lithium triborate (LBO) crystal. The energy per pulse of 3.6 and 0.8 mJ and pulse widths of 5 and 13.5 ns were obtained at repetition of 5 and 40 kHz, respectively. With a LBO crystal, a maximum output power of 15.6 W at 532 nm was obtained at the repetition rate of 40 kHz, the corresponding conversion efficiency was 60%, and the pulse width was 11.3 ns. At 10 kHz, the pulse energy of 532 nm was 1.2 mJ, and the pulse width was 5 ns.

Diode-end-pumped, electro-optically Q-switched Nd:YVO 4 slab laser and its second-harmonic generation

Efficient, high power, Q-switched Nd:YLF slab laser end-pumped by diode stack

We report a very compact Nd:YLF slab laser that is end pumped by a quasi-continuous-wave diode stack. A hybrid resonator is used to generate high output power in a near-diffraction-limited beam (i.e., a beam propogation M2 factor of less than 1.2). A pulse energy of 14.3 mJ was obtained with a pulse width of 8.5 ns at a repetition rate of 500 Hz, which corresponds to a Q-switched peak power of 1.68 MW.

Hengli Zhang

Papers

Electro-optically Q-switched Nd:YVO4 slab laser with a high repetition rate and a short pulse width

An 110 W Nd:YVO4 slab laser with high beam quality output

Diode-end-pumped, electro-optically Q-switched Nd:YVO 4 slab laser and its second-harmonic generation

Efficient, high power, Q-switched Nd:YLF slab laser end-pumped by diode stack

Diode-end-pumped electro-optically Q-switched Nd:YLF slab laser