High-power side-pumped Nd:YVO<sub>4</sub> laser using a grazing incidence cavity

Heather Ralph; Andrew J.W. Brown; Tracy W. Vatter; Roy D. Mead

doi:10.1117/12.478957

17 June 2003 High-power side-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser using a grazing incidence cavity

Heather Ralph, Andrew J.W. Brown, Tracy W. Vatter, Roy D. Mead

Proceedings Volume 4968, Solid State Lasers XII; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.478957
Event: High-Power Lasers and Applications, 2003, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

A grazing incidence geometry was used tom ake compact, high power, efficient TEM₀₀, Nd:YVO₄ oscillators and amplifiers. A side-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser based on a grazing incidence cavity design, pumped with a 50 W diode bar, achieved 30% optical to optical efficiency at 50 kHz and M²= 1.4 x 1.1 output. The alser was acousto-optically Q-switched and was operated at repetition rates from 20 to 100 kHz, as well as operating continuous-wave (CW). Multiple cavity designs were developed to optimize performance for short (<10ns) and longer (>30ns) pulse durations. 15 W of TEM₀₀ output was generated at 50 kHz and used to pump a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) optical parametric oscillator (OPO), generating 5 W of eye safe output at 1.5 μm. This oscillator/OPO system was packaged on a 4 x 6 inch optical platform. Using an oscillator/amplifier/amplifier configuration, 30 W of 1.064 μm output power was generated at 50kHz and subsequently converted in an OPO to 10.25 W of eye safe output in a PPLN OPO. This work demonstrates that the side-pumped grazing incidence geometry scales to high power and maintains M² and efficiency while fitting in a compact package.

Citation Download Citation

Heather Ralph, Andrew J.W. Brown, Tracy W. Vatter, and Roy D. Mead "High-power side-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser using a grazing incidence cavity", Proc. SPIE 4968, Solid State Lasers XII, (17 June 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.478957

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