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Highly efficient 1-microm continuous-wave laser emission in 3-mm-thick, 0.5- and 1.0-at. % Nd:GdVO4 crystals longitudinally pumped at 879 nm into the laser emitting level is reported. Under Ti:sapphire pumping, the slope efficiency in absorbed power is approximately 80% for both crystals, while the slope efficiency, the optical-to-optical efficiency (at 1700-mW pump power), and the laser threshold in incident power are 79%, 78%, and 31 mW for 0.5-at. % Nd and 80%, 77%, and 40 mW for 1.0-at. % Nd, respectively. The slope efficiency is close to the quantum defect limit, the difference being fully accounted for by the residual optical losses. Under 879-nm diode laser pumping, the slope efficiency and the optical-to-optical efficiency in absorbed power of the 0.5-at. % Nd:GdVO4 crystal are 60% and 53%, owing to poorer superposition of the pumped and the laser mode volumes.

One-micron continuous-wave (cw) laser emission with 0.80 slope efficiency (0.79 optical-to-optical efficiency) under Ti: sapphire and 0.75 slope efficiency relative to absorbed power under diode-laser pumping at 880 nm into the emitting level is demonstrated in a 1-mm-thick, 1.0-at. % Nd:YVO4 crystal. These values are superior to those obtained with 809-nm pumping into the level F45/2, and can be explained consistently by the effect of the quantum defect between the pump and laser radiation, the superposition of pump and laser mode volumes, the pump-level efficiency and the residual optical losses. In the analysis of the 809-nm pumping data a pump-level efficiency equal to the unity was employed, as determined with a method based on the pump-saturation effects on absorption.