A high-power high-stability Q-switched green laser with intracavity frequency doubling using a diode-pumped composite ceramic Nd：YAG laser

We successfully obtain a high-average-power high-stability Q-switched green laser based on diode-side-pumped composite ceramic Nd:YAG in a straight plano-concave cavity. The temperature distribution in composite ceramic Nd:YAG crystal is numerically analyzed and compared with that of conventional Nd:YAG crystal. By using a composite ceramic Nd:YAG rod and a type-II high gray track resistance KTP (HGTR-KTP) crystal, a green laser with an average output power of 165 W is obtained at a repetition rate of 25 kHz, with a diode-to-green optical conversion of 14.68%, and a pulse width of 162 ns. To the best of our knowledge, both the output power and optical-to-optical efficiency are the highest values for green laser systems with intracavity frequency doubling of this novel composite ceramic Nd:YAG laser to date. The power fluctuation at around 160 W is lower than 0.3% in 2.5 hours.     

High efficiency,high power QCW diode-side-pumped Nd：YAG ceramic laser at 1064 nm based on domestic ceramic

A high efficiency, high power diode-side-pumped quasi continuous wave （QCW） Nd：YAG ceramic rod laser at 1064 nm based on the domestic transparent ceramic is reported. The average output power of 961 W is achieved with double ceramic rods by means of a symmetrical convex-convex cavity. The optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 38.3% and the slope efficiency is 45.3%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest level of efficiency achieved for the domestic Nd：YAG ceramic rod laser.     

Kilohertz Electro-Optic Q-Switched Nd：YAG Ceramic Laser

We investigate the lasing characteristics of a laser-diode-array side-pumped electro-optic Q-switched Nd： Y3Al5O12 ceramic laser operating at 1000 Hz pulse repetition rate. Using a YAG polycrystalline rod with Nd^3＋ concentration of 1 at. % as the gain medium, pumping with 808 nm laser-diode-arrays, the Q-switched laser output at 1064 nm wavelength with 23mJ pulse energy and less than 12ns FWHM pulse width are obtained at a pumping power of about 400 W, the slope efficiency is around 15%, the output beam divergence angle is about 1.2mrad.     

A Continuous-Wave Diode-Side-Pumped Tm:YAG Laser with Output 51W

A compact diode-side-pumped Tm：YAG laser is presented, which can output 51 W of cw power at 2.02 μm. The Tm：YAG rod is side pumped by nine diode arrays with the central wavelength of 783nm and the with bandwidth of about 2.5 nm at 25^o C. To decrease the thermal effect on the both ends and dissipate the heat effectively, one composite Tm：YAG rod with the undoped YAG end caps and the screw threads on the side surface of the rod is used as the laser crystal. The maximum optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of the 2.02-μm laser output is 14.2%, with a slope effciency of 26.8%     

Comparison of Nd:YAG Ceramic Laser Pumped at 885nm and 808nm

Laser performance of 1064 nm domestic Nd：YAG ceramic lasers for 885 nm direct pumping and 808 nm traditional pumping are compared. Higher slope efficiency of 34% and maximum output power of 16.5 W are obtained for the 885nm pump with a 6ram length 1 at.% Nd：YAG ceramic. The advantages for 885nm direct pumping are discussed in detail. This pumping scheme for highly doping a Nd：YAG ceramic laser is considered as an available way to generate high power and good beam quality simultaneously.     

End-Pumped Tm:YAG Ceramic Slab Lasers

Lasers from a Tm：YAG slab is end-pumped by continuous-wave output of the Tm：YAG ceramic ceramic am~e reported for the t~rst time to our best knowledge. The Tm：YAG ceramic a laser diode with central wavelength 792nm. At room temperature, the maximum power is 4.5 W, and the sloping efficiency is obtained to be 20.5%. The laser spectrum is centered at 2015nm.     

High-Efficiency High-Power Nd：YAG Laser under 885 nm Laser Diode Pumping

A high-efficiency high-power Nd：YAG laser under 885 nm laser diode （LD） pumping is demonstrated. The laser crystal is carefully designed, and the overlapping between the pump modes and the laser modes is optimized. The maximum output power at 1064 nm is 87W under the absorbed pump power 127.7 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 72.4% and an optical-optical efficiency of 68.1%. The optical-optical efficiency is 58.4% for the pump power emitted directly from the LD. To our best knowledge, this is the maximal optical-optical conversion efficiency obtained for the LD end-pumped Nd：YAG lasers so far.     

Diode-Pumped Passive Q-Switched 946-nm Nd：YAG Laser with 2.1-W Average Output Power

We demonstrate a diode-pumped passive Q-switched 946nm Nd: YAG laser with a diffusion-bonded composite laser rod and a co-doped Nd, Cr:YAG as saturable absorber. The average output power of 2.1 W is generated at an incident pump power of 14.3 W. The peak power of the Q-switched pulse is 643 W with 80kHz repetition rate and 40.8 ns pulse width. The slope efficiency and optical conversion efficiency are 17.6% and 14.7%, respectively.     

Diode Stack End-Pumped Nd：GdVO4 Continuous Wave Slab Laser

We report a diode stack end-pumped Nd：GdV04 slab laser with a near-diffraction-limited beam. The output power of 45.8 W at 1064nm is obtained under the pumping power of 147 W, with the optical-optical conversion efficiency of 31.2%, and the slope efficiency is 39.6%.     

High Efficiency Multi-kW Diode-Side-Pumped Nd：YAG Laser with Reduced Thermal Effect

We demonstrate a high efficiency multi-kW diode-side-pumped Nd：YAG laser. High cooling efficiency of the diode-side-pumped module in the laser is achieved. The middle portion of the Nd：YAG rod in the module is cooled by a coolant jet with screwed side surface, and the end-caps of the rod without screwed side surface are cooled by Au coated on the surface. The thermal effect of the laser rod is reduced, which leads to high output power with high optical-optical conversion efficiency. By using three identical Nd：YAG laser modules, an output power of 4.2 kW and beam quality of 58 mm＆#12539;mrad with an optical-optical efficiency of 35% at 1064 nm is obtained in a laser oscillator. By using four identical Nd：YAG laser modules, an output power of 3.1 kW and beam quality of 17 mm＆#12539;mrad with an optical-optical efficiency of 25.8% is demonstrated in a master oscillator power-amplifier system.     

Highly efficient Nd:YAG ceramic CW laser with 59.8% slope-efficiency

In this paper, a highly efficient Ti:sapphire end-pumped 1 at.-% Nd:YAG ceramic laser that is comparable in efficiency with Nd:YAG single crystal lasers has been developed. Optical absorption and emission spectra for Nd:YAG ceramics have been measured. With 673-mW pumping, 295-mW laser output at 1064 nm has been obtained. The laser threshold is only 13 mW. Deducted the transmitted light, the corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 58.4%. The lasing characteristics of Nd:YAG ceramic are nearly equal to those of Nd:YAG single crystal.     

High power CW diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG rod laser

We report on the characterization of a diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG rod laser operating at high CW output power. A four-fold pump configuration is designed and the pump light is directly coupled into the Nd:YAG rod without the help of any cylindrical lenses. The distribution of pump light in the Nd:YAG rod has been calculated by using ray tracing program. The thermal lens effect of the Nd:YAG rod has been experimentally measured. A maximum output power of 800 W at 1064 nm in multimode operation is obtained for a pump power of 2400 W with 33% optical-optical efficiency. At the same time, the maximum beam parameter product of 25 mm·mrad is achieved.     

Highly efficient Nd: YAG ceramic CW laser with 59.8% slope-efficiency

In this paper, a highly efficient Ti:sapphire end-pumped 1 at.-% Nd:YAG ceramic laser that is comparable in efficiency with Nd:YAG single crystal lasers has been developed. Optical absorption and emission spectra for Nd:YAG ceramics have been measured. With 673-mW pumping, 295-mW laser output at 1064 nm has been obtained. The laser threshold is only 13 mW. Deducted the transmitted light, the corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 58.4%. The lasing characteristics of Nd:YAG ceramic are nearly equal to those of Nd:YAG single crystal.     

Large-aperture end-pumped Nd：YAG thin-disk laser directly cooled by liquid

A large-aperture Nd:YAG thin-disk laser directly cooled by liquid is end-pumped by two spatial selforganized laser diode arrays. The pump coupling efficiency reaches as high as 93%. Without any complex pump coupling components, the structure becomes simplified and compact. By optimizing the incident angle of the pump beam, a pump power density of 578 W/cm2 is achieved with a pump uniformity of 5.52%. Up to 1 346-W peak output power with a slope efficiency of 54.9% is obtained when pumping with a long pulse. The near-field pattern of the laser output is uniform.     

Diode-Pumped Self-Q-Switched Cr,Nd：YAG Laser with High Average Output Power

A diode end-pumped self-Q-switched Cr,Nd:YAG laser was established with pulse duration in the range of 8-10ns. The maximum average output power was 4.4 W and the slope efficiency was 27% using an output coupler of R=70%. At pumping power of 17.4 W the laser produces high-quality pulses at 1064 nm in a TEMoo-mode.     

Comparison of laser performance of electro-optic Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic/single crystal laser

An electro-optic Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser operating at kHz repetition rate was demonstrated.Thermal induced lens' focus of ceramic rod was measured and compensated by plano-convex cavity structure. Depolarization loss at different output powers was measured in Nd:YAG single crystal and ceramic lasers. High-energy high-beam-quality laser pulse output was obtained in both laser structures. Pulse energy of about 20 mJ and pulse width of less than 12 ns were achieved, and the average power reached 20 W. The divergence of output laser beam was less than 1.2 mrad, and the beam propagation factor M2was about 1.4.     

A Diode-Side-Pumped Dynamic Fundamental Mode Nd：YAG Laser

A fundamental mode Nd：YAG laser is experimentally demonstrated with a stagger pumped laser module and a special resonator. The rod is pumped symmetrically by staggered bar modules. A dynamic fundamental mode is achieved with the special resonator under different pump levels. A maximal continuous wave output of 61 W （M^2 = 1.4） is achieved with a single rod. An average output of 47 W, pulse width of 54 ns, pulse energy of 4.7 mJ and peak power of 87kW are obtained under the Q-switched operation of 10 kHz.     

Comparison of laser performance of electro-optic Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic/single crystal laser

An electro-optic Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser operating at kHz repetition rate was demonstrated. Thermal induced lens' focus of ceramic rod was measured and compensated by plano-convex cavity structure. Depolarization loss at different output powers was measured in Nd:YAG single crystal and ceramic lasers. High-energy high-beam-quality laser pulse output was obtained in both laser structures. Pulse energy of about 20 mJ and pulse width of less than 12 ns were achieved, and the average power reached 20 W. The divergence of output laser beam was less than 1.2 mrad, and the beam propagation factor M2 was about 1.4.     

Generation of 2.1 W Continuous Wave Blue Light by Intracavity Doubling of a Diode-End-Pumped Nd：YAG Laser in a 30 mm LBO

A folded four-mirror cavity with a composite Nd：YAG rod is optimized to obtain high efficient cw 473nm blue output. The laser could operate stably in the region of the thermal-lens focal length from 20mm to 70mm. LBO is used for intracavity frequency doubling of the 946nm transition of Nd：YAG and the optimum LBO length is investigated. A maximum output power of 2.1 Win the blue spectral range at 473nm is achieved with 30-mm-long LBO, corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 9.1%.     

Conductively cooled 250-Hz single frequency Nd：YAG laser

A conductively cooled, laser diode （LD） end-pumped, injection-seeded single frequency Nd：YAG laser is designed and impleinented. The laser utilizes Nd：YAG rod as gain medium and compact dual-endpumping arrangement using two fiber-coupled LDs with a maximum output of 150 W. The optimized ramp-fire technique is applied to build reliable single longitudinal mode oscillating. The laser is capable of producing a 10-raJ Q-switched pulse with 13-ns pulse width at 1064 nm at a pulse repetition rate of 250 Hz. The output beam qualities M2 of approximately 1.19 and 1.22 in horizontal and vertical directions are detected, respectively.