Title :
Monolithic Nd:YAG ring laser with 0.5 W single-frequency output power at 1.444 /spl mu/m
Author :
Bode, M. ; Freitag, I.
Author_Institution :
InnoLight GmbH, Hannover, Germany
Abstract :
Summary form only. Laser emission at wavelengths which are strongly absorbed in water is regarded as "eyesafe". Tunable single-frequency lasers at these eyesafe wavelengths are required for a variety of applications from basic research to laser-based metrology. Due to their high intrinsic intensity and frequency stability, nonplanar ring lasers (NPROs) are especially attractive for these applications. With Tm:YAG as laser material, eyesafe NPROs at 2.02 /spl mu/m were demonstrated with output powers up to 150 mW. However, the quasi-three-level nature of this transition sets stringent requirements on the laser design like extremely small cavity dimensions. On the other hand, due to a natural coincidence of the 1.444 /spl mu/m transition in Nd:YAG with an absorption peak in water (26 cm/sup -1/), an eyesafe laser based on Nd:YAG seems to be a favorable replacement. In this contribution, we report the first demonstration of an NPRO with stable single-frequency operation at 1.444 /spl mu/m.
Keywords :
laser cavity resonators; laser frequency stability; laser tuning; neodymium; ring lasers; solid lasers; 0.5 W; 1.444 micron; YAG:Nd; YAl5O12:Nd; compact laser source; eyesafe laser; high frequency stability; low gain transition; monolithic Nd:YAG ring laser; nonplanar ring lasers; optical coating design; single-frequency output power; stable single-frequency operation; Frequency; Laser stability; Laser transitions; Metrology; Optical design; Optical materials; Power generation; Power lasers; Ring lasers; Tunable circuits and devices;
Conference_Titel :
Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe, 2000. Conference Digest. 2000 Conference on
Conference_Location :
Nice
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-6319-1
DOI :
10.1109/CLEOE.2000.910332
