Efficient blue-light generation through intracavity frequency doubling of cw Nd:YAG and Nd:YLF lasers

Summary form only given. Solid-state lasers emitting in the blue are currently being thoroughly investigated, and their development is encouraged by various applications among which display systems and data storage are the most demanding. One promising way to realize such a laser is through frequency doubling of the emission from quasi-three-level Nd transitions. Nd-doped YAG has proven to be an efficient submicrometer laser that shows close to four-level characteristics when operated well above threshold. However, the wavelength obtainable by frequency doubling is not sufficiently short to reach the deep-blue color that is optimal for display systems. Due to the shifted energy levels of Nd in fluoride hosts, the ground-state transition gives a much shorter wavelength in YLF. This work concerns efficiency improvements of the benchmark Nd:YAG laser and investigations of the performance of the frequency-doubled Nd:YLF laser.