High-average-power 1-μm performance and frequency conversion of a diode-end-pumped Yb:YAG laser (original) (raw)
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High average power diode-end-pumped intracavity-doubled Nd:YAG laser
Advanced Solid State Lasers, 1998
A compact diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser was frequency-doubled to 0.532 pm with an intracavity KTP or LB0 crystal using a "V" cavity configuration. Two acousto-optic Q-switches were employed at repetition rates of lo-30 kHz. Dichroic fold and end mirrors were used to output two beams with up to 140 W of 0.532 pm power using KTP and 116 W using LB0 as the frequency doubling crystal. This corresponds to 66% of the maximum output power at 1.064 pm obtained with an optimized output coupler reflectivity. The minimum output pulse duration varied with repetition rate from 90 to 130 ns. The multimode output beam had a smooth profile and a beam quality of M2 = 5 1.
Dual-rod Yb:YAG laser for high-power and high-brightness applications
Advanced Solid State Lasers, 2000
We describe a diode-pumped Yb:YAG laser producing 1080 W cw with 27.5% optical-optical efficiency and 532 W Q-switched with M2 =2.2 and 17% optical-optical eficiency. The laser uses two composite Yb:YAG rods separated by a 90 degree quartz rotator for bifocusing compensation. A microlensed diode array end-pumps each rod using a hollow lens duct for pump delivery. By changing resonator parameters, we can adjust thefindamental mode size and the output beam quality. Using a flattened gaussian intensity profile to calculate the modefill eficiency and clipping losses, we compare experimental data to modeled output power vs beam quality.
High-power dual-rod Yb:YAG laser
Optics Letters, 2000
We describe a diode-pumped Yb : YAG laser that produces 1080 W of power cw with 27.5% optical optical efficiency and 532 W Q-switched with M 2 2.2 and 17% optical -optical efficiency. The laser uses two composite Yb : YAG rods separated by a 90 ± quartz rotator for bifocusing compensation. A microlensed diode array end pumps each rod, using a hollow lens duct for pump delivery. By changing resonator parameters we can adjust the fundamental mode size and the output beam quality. Using a f lattened Gaussian intensity prof ile to calculate the mode-f ill eff iciency and clipping losses, we compare experimental data with modeled output power versus beam quality.
High-average-power diode-pumped Yb:YAG lasers
Advanced High-Power Lasers, 2000
A scaleable diode end-pumping technology for high-average-power slab and rod lasers has been under development for the past several years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). This technology has particular application to high average power Yb:YAG lasers that utilize a rod configured gain element. Previously, this rod configured approach has achieved average output powers in a single 5 cm long by 2 mm diameter Yb:YAG rod of 430 W cw and 280 W q-switched. High beam quality (M 2 =2.4) q-switched operation has also been demonstrated at over 180 W of average output power 1. More recently, using a dual rod configuration consisting of two, 5 cm long by 2 mm diameter laser rods with birefringence compensation, we have achieved 1080 W of cw output with an M 2 value of 13.5 at an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 27.5% 2. With the same dual rod laser operated in a q-switched mode, we have also demonstrated 532 W of average power with an M 2 <2.5 at 17% optical-to-optical conversion efficiency. These q-switched results were obtained at a 10 kHz repetition rate and resulted in 77 nsec pulse durations. These improved levels of operational performance have been achieved as a result of technology advancements made in several areas that will be covered in this manuscript. These enhancements to our architecture include: (1) Hollow lens ducts that enable the use of advanced cavity architectures permitting birefringence compensation and the ability to run in large aperture-filling near-diffraction-limited modes. (2) Compound laser rods with flanged-nonabsorbing-endcaps fabricated by diffusion bonding. (3) Techniques for suppressing amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and parasitics in the polished barrel rods.
2005
The effect of simultaneous diode-end-pumping to a diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG rod laser has been experimentally studied at the intracavity frequency doubled laser configuration in a highly compact linear cavity geometry. It has been observed that simultaneous end-pumping significantly improves the optical to optical conversion efficiency. With an application of 8 W of end-pumping power to a diode side-pumped acousto-optically Q-switched Nd:YAG/KTP based laser, the average green power was enhanced by 5 W improving the optical to optical conversion efficiency from 17% to 19.4%. The effect of simultaneous end-pumping in addition with the side-pumping power on the thermal focal length, resonator stability and output beam profile have been studied.
Experimental study of a high-power CW diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG rod laser
Laser Physics Letters, 2005
In this paper we report on the characterization of a diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG rod laser operating at 300 W CW output power. The simulated and measured pump energy distributions in the crystal are compared. The thermal lens effect of the Nd:YAG have been experimentally investigated, and its influence on the performance of the laser are discussed. Output power and the beam quality of the laser under different resonator mirrors and rod end-face curvatures have been experimentally studied. The optical-to-optical and electrical-to-optical efficiencies are 28.5% and 11%, respectively. The beam parameter product is 40 mm•mrad and the instability of laser is about 3%.
1065 W high beam quality diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG laser at 1123 nm
Optics Express, 2010
We demonstrate a diode-side-pumped continuous wave (CW) Nd:YAG laser at 1123 nm with over 100 W's output power and good beam quality. The resonator adopts convex-convex structure working in a thermally near unstable cavity. By precise coating design a single 1123 nm wavelength is delivered. Under the pumped power of 870 W, an output power of 106.5 W is obtained, corresponding to an optical-optical conversion efficiency of 12.2%. The beam quality of M 2 factor is measured to be 5.6. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest output power with good beam quality for 1123 nm CW Nd:YAG laser.
High-power diode-side-pumped rod Tm:YAG laser at 207 μm
Applied Optics, 2013
We report a high-power diode-laser (LD) side-pumped rod Tm:YAG laser of around 2 μm. The laser was water-cooled at 8°C and yielded a maximum output power of 267 W at 2.07 μm, which is the highest output power for an all solid-state cw 2.07 μm rod Tm:YAG laser reported as far as we know. The corresponding optical-optical conversion efficiency was 20.7%, and the slope efficiency was about 29.8%, respectively.