Diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser producing 122-W CW power at 1.319 /spl mu/m

Author

Inoue, Yoko ; Fujikawa, Shuichi

Author_Institution

Adv. Technol. R&D Center, Mitsubishi Electr. Corp., Hyogo, Japan

Volume

36

Issue

6

fYear

2000

fDate

6/1/2000 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

751

Lastpage

756

Abstract

A high-power diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser oscillating at a wavelength of 1.319 /spl mu/m is reported. A 122-W CW laser beam with an M2 factor of 35 has been achieved with an optical efficiency of 19.6%. The lasing characteristics, including thermal lensing, at 1.319 /spl mu/m are compared with those at 1.06 /spl mu/m. Under lasing conditions, the focal length of thermal lensing at 1.319 /spl mu/m decreases by 25% and increases by 15% at 1.06 /spl mu/m with respect to the nonlasing conditions. Based on the experimental results, the heat dissipation in an Nd:YAG rod is discussed with reference to nonradiative transitions from the upper laser level.

Keywords

cooling; laser beams; laser transitions; neodymium; nonlinear optics; nonradiative transitions; optical focusing; optical pumping; solid lasers; 1.06 mum; 1.319 mum; 122 W; 19.6 percent; CW laser beam; CW power; M2 factor; Nd:YAG laser; Nd:YAG rod; YAG:Nd; YAl5O12:Nd; diode-pumped laser; focal length; heat dissipation; high-power diode-pumped laser; lasing characteristics; lasing conditions; nonlasing conditions; nonradiative transitions; optical efficiency; thermal lensing; upper laser level; Diodes; Fiber lasers; Laser beams; Laser excitation; Laser transitions; Optical resonators; Power lasers; Pump lasers; Solid lasers; Thermal lensing;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9197

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/3.845733

Filename

845733