Title :
High-power diffraction-limited Nd:YVO4 continuous-wave lasers at 1.34 μm
Author :
Di Lieto, Alberto ; Minguzzi, Paolo ; Pirastu, Alessio ; Magni, Vittorio
Author_Institution :
Dipt. di Fisica, Universita di Pisa, Italy
fDate :
7/1/2003 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
We describe the development of Nd:YVO4 lasers with continuous-wave emission at 1.342 μm; they contain either one or two crystals which are longitudinally pumped by fiber-coupled diode laser arrays. With a single crystal, the output power is 7.3 W, while with the twin crystal configuration the power reaches 12 W. The best slope efficiency is 40% and the output beam divergence is about two times the diffraction limit. The influence of the Nd concentration, of the pump spot-size, and of the resonator configuration have been experimentally studied. Data on the thermally induced lens are also reported and discussed.
Keywords :
laser cavity resonators; laser transitions; light diffraction; neodymium; optical fibre couplers; optical pumping; semiconductor laser arrays; solid lasers; thermal lensing; yttrium compounds; 1.342 micron; 12 W; 7.3 W; Nd concentration; YVO4:Nd; continuous-wave emission; diffraction limit; fiber-coupled diode laser arrays; high-power diffraction-limited Nd:YVO4 lasers; longitudinal pumping; output beam divergence; output power; pump spot-size; resonator configuration; single crystal; slope efficiency; thermally induced lens; twin crystal configuration; Crystals; Diffraction; Diode lasers; Fiber lasers; Laser beams; Laser excitation; Optical arrays; Power generation; Pump lasers; Semiconductor laser arrays;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JQE.2003.813224
