High power Nd:YAG ceramic laser

Summary form only given. Recently, polycrystalline Nd:YAG ceramic laser media have attracted much attention because of their several advantages. Compared to the Czochralski method for growing Nd:YAG single crystal, the fabrication of polycrystalline transparent Nd:YAG ceramics does not require a special technique. Additionally large size (now, of about 400 mm /spl times/ 10 mm) and high concentration (>1 at%, for microchip lasers) neodymium doped samples can be fabricated. Also multi-layer active elements and multi-functional ceramics could be easily fabricated. These advantages give much more freedom in laser designs. Optical absorption, emission spectra and fluorescence lifetime for Nd:YAG ceramics have been measured and compared to that of single crystal and almost identical results have been obtained.