High efficiency, multi-Watt CW yellow emission from an intracavity-doubled self-Raman laser using Nd:GdVO_4

Abstract

Efficient multi-Watt continuous-wave (CW) yellow emission at 586.5 nm is demonstrated through intracavity frequency-doubling of a Nd:GdVO(4) self-Raman laser pumped at 880 nm. 2.51 W of CW yellow emission with an overall diode-to-yellow conversion efficiency of 12.2% is achieved through the use of a 20 mm long Nd:GdVO(4) self-Raman crystal and an intracavity mirror which facilitates collection of yellow emission generated within the resonator, and reduces thermal loading of the laser crystal.

Spatial and Spectral Effects in Continuous-Wave Intracavity Raman Lasers

“…Promising routes for improving the spectral behavior include the use of intracavity etalons or birefringent filters for line width control [10], the potential to use Raman materials with broader line widths such as LiNbO 3 that could ameliorate the broadening effect of the Stokes field on the fundamental [10], and intracavity sum-frequency mixing that can suppress unwanted Raman lines [26], [29], [49]. Routes for improving spatial behavior include: using end-capped crystals [5], [44], [50], [51], longer-wavelength pump diodes [13], [39], [52], and thin disk geometries [9]- [12], [23] to reduce the intracavity thermal lens; and using double-end pumping [13] and high-brightness diodes [43], [49], [53] to better control the transverse distribution of absorbed pump power.…”

All-solid-state quasi-CW yellow laser with intracavity self-Raman conversion and sum frequency generation

“…Analysis shows possibility of raising diode-to-yellow efficiency if using mirrors with optimal spectral properties. Thus, in the paper [29] devoted to optimization of CW SHG of Stokes field in the similar laser system the diodeto-yellow efficiency of 12% was achieved. In the case of SFG of Stokes and fundamental fields, efficiency of conversion must be higher, other conditions being equal, since intensity of the fundamental field in the cavity is higher than the intensity of the Stokes.…”

“…Subsequently the same group obtained CW yellow generation by SHG of Stokes radiation in intracavity self-Raman lasers on Nd:YVO 4 [10] and Nd:GdVO 4 [11,29]. In all these cases SHG was performed in the inserted in the cavity LBO crystal.…”

Blue-green light generation by self-sum-frequency mixing Nd:YCOB laser

“…New solid sate lasers were designed to enlarge the panel of wavelengths, for example, in the orangeyellow range [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23], and in the cyan range [24][25][26]. In recent years, rare earth ions doped nonlinear laser crystals such as Nd 3+ or Yb 3+ doped YAB, GCOB, YCOB, and MgO:LiNbO 3 have been paid much attention [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46], because they combine laser and nonlinear optical functions into a single crystal, which makes it possible that the red, green and blue lasers can be produced in a crystal via self-frequency-doubling of fundamental infrared lasers of the active ions.…”