Title :
Nd:YAG End Pumped by Semiconductor Laser Arrays for Free Space Optical Communications
Author :
Sipes, Donald L.
Author_Institution :
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Abstract :
Recent work has indicated that nearly half the light from a GaAlAs laser diode array can be converted to Nd:YAG laser radiation when a tightly focused end pump configuration is utilized. In this configuration the Nd: YAG medium acts as an efficient incoherent to coherent converter of the laser diode light. Experimentally 80 mW CW power in a single mode was achieved with a single semiconductor laser array pump. This corresponds to an overall efficiency of 8.0%. Current work is under way to upscale this device to higher powers.
Keywords :
Diode lasers; Geometrical optics; Laser excitation; Laser modes; Optical arrays; Optical fiber communication; Power lasers; Pump lasers; Semiconductor diodes; Semiconductor laser arrays;
Conference_Titel :
Military Communications Conference, 1985. MILCOM 1985. IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/MILCOM.1985.4794947
