Simple 1 micron ring laser oscillators pumped by fiber-coupled laser diodes

Author

Alfrey, Anthony J.

Author_Institution

Edward L. Ginzton Lab., Stanford Univ., CA, USA

Volume

30

Issue

10

fYear

1994

fDate

10/1/1994 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

2350

Lastpage

2355

Abstract

We have designed simple nonplanar Nd:YAG ring laser oscillators that utilize all flat mirrors and are pumped by the fiber-coupled output from ten 3 watt diode lasers. We have obtained up to 8.5 W at 1.06 microns of diffraction-limited, single frequency output with no measureable astigmatism or ellipticity with a total pump power of 26 W from a pair of 400 micron diameter fibers. Convex curved surfaces on the Nd:YAG rod are used to increase the cavity mode size at the rod while minimizing the contribution of aspheric thermal lensing. Comparison to a linear cavity with no intracavity polarizing element indicates that stress depolarization is a significant loss mechanism in the ring laser. The cavity design is also suitable for use with birefringent laser media, such as Nd:YLF or Nd:YVO₄

Keywords

laser accessories; laser cavity resonators; mirrors; neodymium; optical couplers; optical fibres; optical losses; optical pumping; solid lasers; 1.06 mum; 26 W; 8.5 W; Nd:YAG rod; YAG:Nd; YAl5O12:Nd; aspheric thermal lensing; astigmatism; cavity design; cavity mode size; convex curved surfaces; diffraction-limited single frequency output; diode lasers; ellipticity; fiber-coupled laser diodes; fiber-coupled output; flat mirrors; intracavity polarizing element; linear cavity; loss mechanism; simple nonplanar Nd:YAG ring laser oscillators; stress depolarization; total pump power; Diode lasers; Fiber lasers; Laser excitation; Laser modes; Mirrors; Optical design; Optical fiber polarization; Pump lasers; Ring lasers; Ring oscillators;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9197

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/3.328590

Filename

328590