Title :
True three level laser operation with Nd:vanadate crystals
Author :
Hérault, Emilie ; Balembois, François ; Georges, Patrick
Author_Institution :
Campus Polytech., Palaiseau
Abstract :
Three level laser operation generally requires high pump power density to overcome the absorption induced by the ground state population. Transparency intensity at 880 nm can be reached with a pump power density at 808 nm of 4.2 kW/cm2 for Nd:YVO4 and 7.3 kW/cm2 for Nd:GdVO4. This can be easily available at the focus point with a standard laser diode emitting up to 20 W out from a 200 mum core fiber (NA=0.2). To conclude, true three level laser operation has been demonstrated for the first time in two vanadate crystals under diode-pumping. Efficient blue emission around 440 nm was achieved in Q-switched operation.
Keywords :
Q-switching; gadolinium compounds; laser beams; neodymium; optical pumping; solid lasers; yttrium compounds; GdVO4:Nd; Nd:vanadate crystals; Q-switched operation; YVO4:Nd; efficient blue emission; ground state population; high pump power density; power 20 W; size 200 mum; standard laser diode-pumping; three level laser operation; transparency intensity; wavelength 808 nm; wavelength 880 nm; Crystals; Diode lasers; Laser beams; Laser excitation; Laser transitions; Optical coupling; Optical fiber couplers; Power lasers; Pump lasers; Stationary state;
Conference_Titel :
Lasers and Electro-Optics, 2007 and the International Quantum Electronics Conference. CLEOE-IQEC 2007. European Conference on
Conference_Location :
Munich
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-0931-0
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-0931-0
DOI :
10.1109/CLEOE-IQEC.2007.4385871
