Title :
Diode-pumped thulium laser research at Lightwave Electronics
Author :
Kane, Thomas J. ; Kmetec, Jeffrey D. ; Kubo, Tracy S. ; Re, Sean ; Shannon, D.C. ; Wallace, R.W.
Author_Institution :
Lightwave Electron. Corp., Mountain View, CA, USA
Abstract :
Our work with Tm:YAG lasers has not been without difficulties. We see evidence of parasitic processes in Tm:YAG. Gain seems to clamp at about 1% per millimeter, well below the approximately 10% per millimeter which would be expected if all the atoms in 4%-doped material were in the upper laser level. Thermal focusing has made the design of cw-pumped lasers with large mode areas very difficult. We have been unable to use injection-seeding alone to cause unidirectionality in Q-switched ring lasers
Keywords :
Q-switching; laser modes; nonlinear optics; optical pumping; ring lasers; solid lasers; thulium; Lightwave Electronics; Q-switched ring lasers; YAG:Tm; YAl5O12:Tm; cw-pumped lasers; diode-pumped thulium laser; injection-seeding; large mode areas; parasitic processes; thermal focusing; unidirectionality; upper laser level; Diodes; Fiber lasers; Laser excitation; Laser modes; Laser radar; Laser tuning; Local oscillators; Optical pulses; Pump lasers; Ring lasers;
Conference_Titel :
Lasers and Electro-Optics Society Annual Meeting, 1993. LEOS '93 Conference Proceedings. IEEE
Conference_Location :
San Jose, CA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1263-5
DOI :
10.1109/LEOS.1993.379379
