Title :
Guiding effects in Nd:YVO4 microchip lasers operating well above threshold
Author :
Kemp, Alan J. ; Conroy, Richard S. ; Friel, Graham J. ; Sinclair, Bruce D.
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Phys. & Astron., Univ. of St. Andrews, UK
fDate :
4/1/1999 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Guiding of the transverse mode in Nd:YVO4 microchip lasers is examined both experimentally and theoretically at pump powers well above threshold. It is found that thermal changes in the cavity geometry induced by intense diode pumping can be well understood using a simple model. However, an understanding of these effects is not sufficient to explain the nature of the transverse mode. Gain-related guiding effects are found to play an important role even at pump powers well above threshold. For a 0.5-mm-thick microchip laser, a difference of around 30% is observed between the minimum beam waist expected due to thermal guiding and the measured beam waist. The gain-related effects are described theoretically and their importance is demonstrated experimentally
Keywords :
laser beams; laser cavity resonators; laser modes; neodymium; optical pumping; solid lasers; thermo-optical effects; waveguide lasers; yttrium compounds; 0.5 mm; Nd:YVO4 microchip lasers; YVO4:Nd; cavity geometry; gain-related guiding effects; guiding effects; intense diode pumping; microchip laser; minimum beam waist; pump powers; thermal changes; transverse mode; transverse mode guiding; well above threshold; Diodes; Geometrical optics; Laser beams; Laser excitation; Laser modes; Laser theory; Microchip lasers; Power lasers; Pump lasers; Solid modeling;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
