Laser diode end-pumped continuous-wave laser operation at 1339 nm in Nd : GGG with nearly diffraction-limited beam quality

Abstract

We report on the laser diode end-pumped continuous-wave laser operation of a Nd : GGG single crystal at 1339 nm in a plane parallel laser cavity configuration, for the first time to our knowledge. A simultaneous tri-wavelength laser at 1324, 1331 and 1337 nm is obtained at first with a maximum output power up to 1.66 W in a free-running laser operation with a slope efficiency of about 27.6% with respect to the absorbed pump power. By inserting a 0.1 mm glass etalon into the laser cavity and finely tilting it to a suitable angle, a single wavelength lasing at 1339 nm can be realized with a maximum output power of 0.58 W and slope efficiency of about 12.9%. The output power stability is simply estimated to be about 4.1% and the output beam quality is measured to be as near the diffraction limit as 1.33 and 1.16 in x and y directions, respectively.