Comparison of cw laser performance of Nd:KGW, Nd:YAG, Nd:BEL, and Nd:YVO 4 under laser diode pumping

Thermal lensing study and athermal directions in flashlamp-pumped Nd:KGd(WO4)2 laser crystal

“…A and B-major and minor semiaxes of the elliptic probe beam profile; α max and α min -directions with maximum and minimum values of thermal-expansion coefficient measurements were not performed to date). Thermal lens in N p -cut Nd-and Yb-doped KGdW crystals was found to be different-signed; while in the N g -cut crystals it was found to be positive (under diode [17,[29][30][31] and flashlamp pumping [15,18,32]). The relation between principal axes of thermal-expansion tensor X 1 and X 3 and semiaxes of elliptic probe beam profile was observed for N p -cut Yb:KGdW crystal [31].…”

Anisotropy of the photo-elastic effect in Nd : KGd(WO4)2laser crystals

“…This is in agreement with our data, A^N m ~ 33°. As a result, for the N p -cut crystal, A || X' 1 The calculated dependencies of the optical powers of the thermal lens in the two meridional planes, D A and D B , on the absorbed pump power are presented in figure 6(a)-(c). ABCD-modeling of the laser resonator used [figure 6(d)] indicates that expansion (compression) of the output laser beam corresponds to the positive (negative) thermal lens in Nd:KGW crystal.…”

“…Nd-and Yb-doped potassium gadolinium tungstate, Nd:KGd(WO 4 ) 2 (KGW), is an attractive material for cw [1][2][3][4] and pulsed [5][6][7][8] low-threshold diode-pumped lasers operating in the vicinity of 1 and 1.3 μm. KGW is a biaxial crystal, with three crystal orientations having been employed so far for laser engineering: along the b (N p ) axis [1][2][3][5][6][7][8], along the N g axis [9][10][11][12] and along the optical axis (O) [13,14], i.e.…”

Growth of Nd:potassium gadolinium tungstate thin-film waveguides by pulsed laser deposition

“…␣-KGW doped with Nd, Er, or Yb has spectral characteristics which provide an excellent match for diode pumping. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Nd:KGW additionally offers very efficient and ultralow-threshold stimulated Raman scattering. This in turn allows the simultaneous generation of the common Nd lasing lines together with several Stokes and anti-Stokes lines ͑at 1.18, 1.32, and 0.97 m from 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 11/2 transition͒, the so-called stringer laser 7 or lasing at 1.35 m plus the first Stokes line at 1.54 m from 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 13/2 transition.…”

“…Nd:KGW lasers have demonstrated lower threshold and higher slope efficiency ͑by more than a factor of 2͒ than Nd:YAG lasers. 2,4,8 It is possible to operate Nd:KGW lasers in cw and Q-switching mode.…”