Side-pumping combiner for high-power fiber laser based on tandem pumping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Yanran; Lei, Chengmin; Liu, Jun; Li, Ruixian; Liu, Le; Xiao, Hu; Chen, Zilun

2017-11-01

We investigate a (2+1)×1 side-pumping combiner numerically and experimentally for high-power fiber laser based on tandem pumping for the first time. The influence of taper ratio and launch mode on the 1018-nm pump coupling efficiency and the leakage power into the coating of the signal fiber (LPC) is analyzed numerically. A side-pumping combiner is developed successfully by tapered-fused splicing technique based on the numerical analysis, consisting of two pump fibers (220/242 μm, NA=0.22) and a signal fiber (40/400 μm, NA=0.06/0.46). The total 1018-nm pump efficiency of the combiner is 98.1%, and the signal light insertion loss is <3%. The results show that, compared with laser diodes pumping, the combiner appears to have a better LPC performance and power handling capability when using 1018-nm fiber as the pump light. Meanwhile, an all-fiber MOPA laser based on tandem pumping with 1080-nm output of 2533 W and the slope efficiency of 82.8% is achieved based on the home-made combiner.

Scalable diode array pumped Nd rod laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zenzie, H. H.; Knights, M. G.; Mosto, J. R.; Chicklis, E. P.; Perkins, P. E.

1991-01-01

Experiments were carried out on a five-array pump head which utilizes gold-coated reflective cones to couple the pump energy to Nd:YAG and Nd:YLF rod lasers, demonstrating high efficiency and uniform energy deposition. Because the cones function as optical diodes to light outside their acceptance angle (typically 10-15 deg), much of the diode energy not absorbed on the first pass can be returned to the rod.

GaAs laser diode pumped Nd:YAG laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Conant, L. C.; Reno, C. W.

1974-01-01

A 1.5-mm by 3-cm neodymium-ion doped YAG laser rod has been side pumped using a GaAs laser diode array tuned to the 8680-A absorption line, achieving a multimode average output power of 120 mW for a total input power of 20 W to the final-stage laser diode drivers. The pumped arrangement was designed to take advantage of the high brightness of a conventional GaAs array as a linear source by introducing the pump light through a slit into a close-wrapped gold coated pump cavity. This cavity forms an integrating chamber for the pump light.

Diffractive Combiner of Single-Mode Pump Laser-Diode Beams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Duncan; Wilson, Daniel; Qiu, Yueming; Forouhar, Siamak

2007-01-01

An optical beam combiner now under development would make it possible to use the outputs of multiple single-mode laser diodes to pump a neodymium: yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) nonplanar ring oscillator (NPRO) laser while ensuring that the laser operates at only a single desired frequency. Heretofore, an Nd:YAG NPRO like the present one has been pumped by a single multimode laser-diode beam delivered via an optical fiber. It would be desirable to use multiple pump laser diodes to increase reliability beyond that obtainable from a single pump laser diode. However, as explained below, simplistically coupling multiple multimode laser-diode beams through a fiber-optic combiner would entail a significant reduction in coupling efficiency, and lasing would occur at one or more other frequencies in addition to the single desired frequency. Figure 1 schematically illustrates the principle of operation of a laser-diode-pumped Nd:YAG NPRO. The laser beam path is confined in a Nd:YAG crystal by means of total internal reflections on the three back facets and a partial-reflection coating on the front facet. The wavelength of the pump beam - 808 nm - is the wavelength most strongly absorbed by the Nd:YAG crystal. The crystal can lase at a wavelength of either 1,064 nm or 1,319 nm - which one depending on the optical coating on the front facet. A thermal lens effect induced by the pump beam enables stable lasing in the lowest-order transverse electromagnetic mode (the TEM00 mode). The frequency of this laser is very stable because of the mechanical stability of the laser crystal and the unidirectional nature of the lasing. The unidirectionality is a result of the combined effects of (1) a Faraday rotation induced by an externally applied magnetic field and (2) polarization associated with non-normal incidence and reflection on the front facet.

Four-Pass Coupler for Laser-Diode-Pumped Solid-State Laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coyle, Donald B.

2008-01-01

A four-pass optical coupler affords increased (in comparison with related prior two-pass optical couplers) utilization of light generated by a laser diode in side pumping of a solid-state laser slab. The original application for which this coupler was conceived involves a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) crystal slab, which, when pumped by a row of laser diodes at a wavelength of 809 nm, lases at a wavelength of 1,064 nm. Heretofore, typically, a thin laser slab has been pumped in two passes, the second pass occurring by virtue of reflection of pump light from a highly reflective thin film on the side opposite the side through which the pump light enters. In two-pass pumping, a Nd:YAG slab having a thickness of 2 mm (which is typical) absorbs about 84 percent of the 809-nm pump light power, leaving about 16 percent of the pump light power to travel back toward the laser diodes. This unused power can cause localized heating of the laser diodes, thereby reducing their lifetimes. Moreover, if the slab is thinner than 2 mm, then even more unused power travels back toward the laser diodes. The four-pass optical coupler captures most of this unused pump light and sends it back to the laser slab for two more passes. As a result, the slab absorbs more pump light, as though it were twice as thick. The gain and laser cavity beam quality of a smaller laser slab in conjunction with this optical coupler can thus be made comparable to those of a larger two-pass-pumped laser slab.

High power (2+1) ×1 taper-fused all-fiber side-pumped combiner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Juan; Ma, Yi; Yan, Hong

2018-03-01

A novel design and fabrication method of a (2+1) ×1 taper-fused all-fiber side-pumped combiner is reported. The pump coupling efficiency of this pump combiner was studied theoretically and experimentally. The measurement results indicated that the coupling efficiency of the pump light is 96.5%, the signal-to-pump isolation reaches 31dB, and the signal loss of the combiner is 0.19dB. A backward-pumped fiber laser system was established by using this (2+1) ×1 side-pumped combiner directly, achieving a signal laser output of 1007W with M2=1.33.

Direct diode-pumped Kerr Lens 13 fs Ti:sapphire ultrafast oscillator using a single blue laser diode

DOE PAGES

Backus, Sterling; Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO; Kirchner, Matt; ...

2017-05-18

We demonstrate a direct diode-pumped Kerr Lens Modelocked Ti:sapphire laser producing 13 fs pulses with 1.85 nJ energy at 78 MHz (145 mW) using a single laser diode pump. We also present a similar laser using three spectrally combined diodes, generating >300 mW output power with >50 nm bandwidth. We discuss the use of far-from TEM 00 pump laser sources, and their effect on the Kerr lens modelocking process.

Direct diode-pumped Kerr Lens 13 fs Ti:sapphire ultrafast oscillator using a single blue laser diode

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Backus, Sterling; Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO; Kirchner, Matt

We demonstrate a direct diode-pumped Kerr Lens Modelocked Ti:sapphire laser producing 13 fs pulses with 1.85 nJ energy at 78 MHz (145 mW) using a single laser diode pump. We also present a similar laser using three spectrally combined diodes, generating >300 mW output power with >50 nm bandwidth. We discuss the use of far-from TEM 00 pump laser sources, and their effect on the Kerr lens modelocking process.

CO.sub.2 optically pumped distributed feedback diode laser

DOEpatents

Rockwood, Stephen D.

1980-01-01

A diode laser optically pumped by a CO.sub.2 coherent source. Interference fringes generated by feeding the optical pumping beam against a second beam, periodically alter the reflectivity of the diode medium allowing frequency variation of the output signal by varying the impingent angle of the CO.sub.2 laser beams.

Active mode-locked operation of a diode pumped colour-centre laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazighi, K.; Doualan, J. L.; Hamel, J.; Margerie, J.; Mounier, D.; Ostrovsky, A.

1991-09-01

The cw laser diode pumping of an (F +2) ∗ colour centre laser has been recently demonstrated in our laboratory. The intensity of the pumping diode can easily be hf modulated. We present here the first experiments in which the colour centre laser is synchronously pumped at the mode spacing frequency, resulting in the emission of clean, regularly spaced pulses. The opto-electronic feedback is a very promising method of obtaining such a pulsed operation of a diode pumped colour centre laser without the use of an external hf oscillator.

Frequency stabilization of diode-laser-pumped solid state lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byer, Robert L.

1988-01-01

The goal of the NASA Sunlite program is to fly two diode-laser-pumped solid-state lasers on the space shuttle and while doing so to perform a measurement of their frequency stability and temporal coherence. These measurements will be made by combining the outputs of the two lasers on an optical radiation detector and spectrally analyzing the beat note. Diode-laser-pumped solid-state lasers have several characteristics that will make them useful in space borne experiments. First, this laser has high electrical efficiency. Second, it is of a technology that enables scaling to higher powers in the future. Third, the laser can be made extremely reliable, which is crucial for many space based applications. Fourth, they are frequency and amplitude stable and have high temporal coherence. Diode-laser-pumped solid-state lasers are inherently efficient. Recent results have shown 59 percent slope efficiency for a diode-laser-pumped solid-state laser. As for reliability, the laser proposed should be capable of continuous operation. This is possible because the diode lasers can be remote from the solid state gain medium by coupling through optical fibers. Diode lasers are constructed with optical detectors for monitoring their output power built into their mounting case. A computer can actively monitor the output of each diode laser. If it sees any variation in the output power that might indicate a problem, the computer can turn off that diode laser and turn on a backup diode laser. As for stability requirements, it is now generally believed that any laser can be stabilized if the laser has a frequency actuator capable of tuning the laser frequency as far as it is likely to drift in a measurement time.

Resonantly diode laser pumped 1.6-μm Er:YAG laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garbuzov, Dmitri; Kudryashov, Igor; Dubinskii, Mark

2005-06-01

We report what is believed to be the first demonstration of direct resonant diode pumping of a 1.6-mm Er3+-doped bulk solid-state laser (DPSSL). The most of the results is obtained with pumping Er:YAG by the single mode diode laser packaged in fibered modules. The fibered modules, emitting at 1470 nm and 1530 nm wavelength with and without fiber grating (FBG) stabilization, have been used in pumping experiments. The very first results on high power DPSSL operation achieved with diode array pumping also will be presented. The highest absorbed photon conversion efficiency of 26% has been obtained for Er:YAG DPSSL using the 1470-nm single-mode module. Analysis of the DPSSL input-output characteristics suggests that the obtained slope efficiency can be increased at least up to 40% through the reduction of intracavity losses and pumping efficiency improvement. Diode pumped SSL (DPSSL) operates at a wavelength of 1617 nm and 1645 nm.

Modulation of frequency doubled DFB-tapered diode lasers for medical treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christensen, Mathias; Hansen, Anders K.; Noordegraaf, Danny; Jensen, Ole B.; Skovgaard, Peter M. W.

2017-02-01

The use of visible lasers for medical treatments is on the rise, and together with this comes higher expectations for the laser systems. For many medical treatments, such as ophthalmology, doctors require pulse on demand operation together with a complete extinction of the light between pulses. We have demonstrated power modulation from 0.1 Hz to 10 kHz at 532 nm with a modulation depth above 97% by wavelength detuning of the laser diode. The laser diode is a 1064 nm monolithic device with a distributed feedback (DFB) laser as the master oscillator (MO), and a tapered power amplifier (PA). The MO and PA have separate electrical contacts and the modulation is achieved with wavelength tuning by adjusting the current through the MO 40 mA.

Method and system for homogenizing diode laser pump arrays

DOEpatents

Bayramian, Andrew James

2016-05-03

An optical amplifier system includes a diode pump array including a plurality of semiconductor diode laser bars disposed in an array configuration and characterized by a periodic distance between adjacent semiconductor diode laser bars. The periodic distance is measured in a first direction perpendicular to each of the plurality of semiconductor diode laser bars. The diode pump array provides a pump output propagating along an optical path and characterized by a first intensity profile measured as a function of the first direction and having a variation greater than 10%. The optical amplifier system also includes a diffractive optic disposed along the optical path. The diffractive optic includes a photo-thermo-refractive glass member. The optical amplifier system further includes an amplifier slab having an input face and position along the optical path and separated from the diffractive optic by a predetermined distance. A second intensity profile measured at the input face of the amplifier slab as a function of the first direction has a variation less than 10%.

Method and system for homogenizing diode laser pump arrays

DOEpatents

Bayramian, Andy J

2013-10-01

An optical amplifier system includes a diode pump array including a plurality of semiconductor diode laser bars disposed in an array configuration and characterized by a periodic distance between adjacent semiconductor diode laser bars. The periodic distance is measured in a first direction perpendicular to each of the plurality of semiconductor diode laser bars. The diode pump array provides a pump output propagating along an optical path and characterized by a first intensity profile measured as a function of the first direction and having a variation greater than 10%. The optical amplifier system also includes a diffractive optic disposed along the optical path. The diffractive optic includes a photo-thermo-refractive glass member. The optical amplifier system further includes an amplifier slab having an input face and position along the optical path and separated from the diffractive optic by a predetermined distance. A second intensity profile measured at the input face of the amplifier slab as a function of the first direction has a variation less than 10%.

Nonimaging concentrators for diode-pumped slab lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lacovara, Philip; Gleckman, Philip L.; Holman, Robert L.; Winston, Roland

1991-10-01

Diode-pumped slab lasers require concentrators for high-average power operation. We detail the properties of diode lasers and slab lasers which set the concentration requirements and the concentrator design methodologies that are used, and describe some concentrator designs used in high-average power slab lasers at Lincoln Laboratory.

One joule per Q-switched pulse diode-pumped laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holder, Lonnie E.; Kennedy, Chandler; Long, Larry; Dube, George

1992-01-01

Q-switched 1-J output has been achieved from diode-pumped zig-zag Nd:YAG slabs in an oscillator-amplifier configuration. The oscillator was single transverse and longitudinal model. This laser set records for Q-switched energy per pulse, and for average power from a diode-pumped laser. The laser was constructed in a rugged configuration suitable for routine laboratory use.

Fibre-coupled red diode-pumped Alexandrite TEM00 laser with single and double-pass end-pumping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arbabzadah, E. A.; Damzen, M. J.

2016-06-01

We report the investigation of an Alexandrite laser end-pumped by a fibre-coupled red diode laser module. Power, efficiency, spatial, spectral, and wavelength tuning performance are studied as a function of pump and laser cavity parameters. It is the first demonstration, to our knowledge, of greater than 1 W power and also highest laser slope efficiency (44.2%) in a diode-pumped Alexandrite laser with diffraction-limited TEM00 mode operation. Spatial quality was excellent with beam propagation parameter M 2 ~ 1.05. Wavelength tuning from 737-796 nm was demonstrated using an intracavity birefringent tuning filter. Using a novel double pass end-pumping scheme to get efficient absorption of both polarisation states of the scrambled fibre-delivered diode pump, a total output coupled power of 1.66 W is produced in TEM00 mode with 40% slope efficiency.

Thermal Lens Measurement in Diode-Pumped Nd:YAG Zig-Zag Slab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smoak, M. C.; Kay, R. B.; Coyle, D. B.; Hopf, D.

1998-01-01

A major advantage that solid state zig-zag slab lasers have over conventional rod-based designs is that a much weaker thermal lens is produced in the slab when side-pumped with Quasi-CW laser diode arrays, particularly if the pump radiation is kept well away from the Brewster-cut ends. This paper reports on a rather strong thermal lens produced when diode pump radiation is collimated into a narrow portion of the zig-zag slab. The collimation of multi-bar pump packages to increase brightness and improve overlap is a direct consequence of designs which seek to maximize performance and efficiency. Our slab design employed a 8.1 cm x 2.5 mm x 5 mm slab with opposing Brewster end faces. It was pumped through the 2.5 mm direction by seven laser diode array packages, each housing four 6OW diode bars, 1 cm in width. The pump face, anti-reflection (AR) coated at 809 nm, was 6.8 cm in width and the 8.1 cm opposing side, high-reflection (HR) coated at 809 nm, reflected the unabsorbed pump beam for a second pass through the slab.

Diode-laser-pump module with integrated signal ports for pumping amplifying fibers and method

DOEpatents

Savage-Leuchs,; Matthias, P [Woodinville, WA

2009-05-26

Apparatus and method for collimating pump light of a first wavelength from laser diode(s) into a collimated beam within an enclosure having first and second optical ports, directing pump light from the collimated beam to the first port; and directing signal light inside the enclosure between the first and second port. The signal and pump wavelengths are different. The enclosure provides a pump block having a first port that emits pump light to a gain fiber outside the enclosure and that also passes signal light either into or out of the enclosure, and another port that passes signal light either out of or into the enclosure. Some embodiments use a dichroic mirror to direct pump light to the first port and direct signal light between the first and second ports. Some embodiments include a wavelength-conversion device to change the wavelength of at least some of the signal light.

Tapered laser rods as a means of minimizing the path length of trapped barrel mode rays

DOEpatents

Beach, Raymond J.; Honea, Eric C.; Payne, Stephen A.; Mercer, Ian; Perry, Michael D.

2005-08-30

By tapering the diameter of a flanged barrel laser rod over its length, the maximum trapped path length of a barrel mode can be dramatically reduced, thereby reducing the ability of the trapped spontaneous emission to negatively impact laser performance through amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). Laser rods with polished barrels and flanged end caps have found increasing application in diode array end-pumped laser systems. The polished barrel of the rod serves to confine diode array pump light within the rod. In systems utilizing an end-pumping geometry and such polished barrel laser rods, the pump light that is introduced into one or both ends of the laser rod, is ducted down the length of the rod via the total internal reflections (TIRs) that occur when the light strikes the rod's barrel. A disadvantage of using polished barrel laser rods is that such rods are very susceptible to barrel mode paths that can trap spontaneous emission over long path lengths. This trapped spontaneous emission can then be amplified through stimulated emission resulting in a situation where the stored energy available to the desired lasing mode is effectively depleted, which then negatively impacts the laser's performance, a result that is effectively reduced by introducing a taper onto the laser rod.

AlGaAs diode pumped tunable chromium lasers

DOEpatents

Krupke, William F.; Payne, Stephen A.

1992-01-01

An all-solid-state laser system is disclosed wherein the laser is pumped in the longwave wing of the pump absorption band. By utilizing a laser material that will accept unusually high dopant concentrations without deleterious effects on the crystal lattice one is able to compensate for the decreased cross section in the wing of the absorption band, and the number of pump sources which can be used with such a material increases correspondingly. In a particular embodiment a chromium doped colquiriite-structure crystal such as Cr:LiSrAlF.sub.6 is the laser material. The invention avoids the problems associated with using AlGaInP diodes by doping the Cr:LiSrAlF.sub.6 heavily to enable efficient pumping in the longwave wing of the absorption band with more practical AlGaAs diodes.

Remotely powered distributed microfluidic pumps and mixers based on miniature diodes.

PubMed

Chang, Suk Tai; Beaumont, Erin; Petsev, Dimiter N; Velev, Orlin D

2008-01-01

We demonstrate new principles of microfluidic pumping and mixing by electronic components integrated into a microfluidic chip. The miniature diodes embedded into the microchannel walls rectify the voltage induced between their electrodes from an external alternating electric field. The resulting electroosmotic flows, developed in the vicinity of the diode surfaces, were utilized for pumping or mixing of the fluid in the microfluidic channel. The flow velocity of liquid pumped by the diodes facing in the same direction linearly increased with the magnitude of the applied voltage and the pumping direction could be controlled by the pH of the solutions. The transverse flow driven by the localized electroosmotic flux between diodes oriented oppositely on the microchannel was used in microfluidic mixers. The experimental results were interpreted by numerical simulations of the electrohydrodynamic flows. The techniques may be used in novel actively controlled microfluidic-electronic chips.

Spatial Combining of Laser-Diode Beams for Pumping an NPRO

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gelsinger, Paul; Liu, Duncan; Mulder, Jerry; Aguayo, Francisco

2008-01-01

A free-space optical beam combiner now undergoing development makes it possible to use the outputs of multiple multimode laser diodes to pump a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) non-planar ring oscillator (NPRO) laser while ensuring that the laser operates at only a single desired frequency. Heretofore, a Nd:YAG NPRO like the present one has been pumped by a single multimode laser-diode beam delivered via an optical fiber. It would be desirable to use multiple pump laser diodes to increase reliability beyond that obtainable from a single pump laser diode. However, as explained in this article, simplistically coupling multiple multimode laser-diode beams through a fiber-optic combiner would entail a significant reduction in coupling efficiency, and lasing would occur at one or more other frequencies in addition to the single desired frequency. To minimize coupling loss, one must ensure that the NA (approximately equal to 0.3) of the combined laser-diode beams is less than the NA of the fiber. The A(Omega) of the laser-diode beam in the slow-axis plane is 1/1.3 as large as that of the fiber. This A(Omega) is small enough to enable efficient coupling of light into the optical fiber, but too large for combining of beams in the slow-axis plane. Therefore, a pair of cylindrical lenses is used to cancel the slow-axis plane magnification introduced by the on-cylindrical lenses used to effect magnification in the fast-axis plane.

Octave-spanning supercontinuum generation in in situ tapered As₂S₃ fiber pumped by a thulium-doped fiber laser.

PubMed

Rudy, Charles W; Marandi, Alireza; Vodopyanov, Konstantin L; Byer, Robert L

2013-08-01

We report a supercontinuum spanning well over an octave of measurable bandwidth from about 1 to 3.7 μm in a 2.1 mm long As₂S₃ fiber taper using the in situ tapering method. A sub-100-fs mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser system with ~300 pJ of pulse energy was used as the pump source. Third-harmonic generation was observed and currently limits the pump pulse energy and achievable spectral bandwidth.

Distributed Bragg reflector tapered diode lasers emitting more than 10 W at 1154 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feise, D.; Bugge, F.; Matalla, M.; Thies, A.; Ressel, P.; Blume, G.; Hofmann, J.; Paschke, K.

2018-02-01

Distributed Bragg reflector tapered diode lasers (DBR-TPL) emitting at 1154 nm are ideal light sources to be implemented into medical devices and hand-held tools for treatment in dermatology and ophthalmology at 577 nm due to their high spectral radiance enabling second harmonic generation from near infrared to yellow. In this work, we present DBR-TPLs which are able to emit more than 10 W in continuous-wave operation with a narrow spectral emission at 1154 nm and a very good beam quality providing excellent spectral radiance. The investigated DBRTPLs are based on three different epitaxial structures with varying vertical far field angles of 35°, 26°, and 17°. To optimize the coupling efficiency into non-linear crystals we studied DBR-TPL with a vertical far field angle of approx. 17° based on an asymmetrical super large optical cavity epitaxial structure. At a pump current of 18 A these devices are able to emit more than 9 W at 25°C and nearly 11 W at 10°C. The spectral emission is very narrow (ΔλFWHM = 18 pm) and single mode over the entire current range. While the beam quality factor M2 according to the 1/e2-level remains 1.1, the M2 according to second order moments deteriorates when the laser is pumped with higher currents. Therefore, the power content in the central lobe increases somewhat less rapidly than the total power.

Laser-diode-pumped 1319-nm monolithic non-planar ring single-frequency laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qing; Gao, Chunqing; Zhao, Yan; Yang, Suhui; Wei, Guanghui; 2, Dongmei Hong

2003-10-01

Single-frequency 1319-nm laser was obtained by using a laser-diode-pumped monolithic Nd:YAG crystal with a non-planar ring oscillator (NPRO). When the NPRO laser was pumped by an 800-?m fiber coupled laser diode, the output power of the single-frequency 1319-nm laser was 220 mW, and the slope efficiency was 16%. With a 100-1m fiber coupled diode laser pumped, 99-mW single-frequency 1319-nm laser was obtained with a slope efficiency of 29%.

Transversely diode-pumped alkali metal vapour laser

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parkhomenko, A I; Shalagin, A M

2015-09-30

We have studied theoretically the operation of a transversely diode-pumped alkali metal vapour laser. For the case of high-intensity laser radiation, we have obtained an analytical solution to a complex system of differential equations describing the laser. This solution allows one to exhaustively determine all the energy characteristics of the laser and to find optimal parameters of the working medium and pump radiation (temperature, buffer gas pressure, and intensity and width of the pump spectrum). (lasers)

A novel miniature dynamic microfluidic cell culture platform using electro-osmosis diode pumping.

PubMed

Chang, Jen-Yung; Wang, Shuo; Allen, Jeffrey S; Lee, Seong Hyuk; Chang, Suk Tai; Choi, Young-Ki; Friedrich, Craig; Choi, Chang Kyoung

2014-07-01

An electro-osmosis (EOS) diode pumping platform capable of culturing cells in fluidic cellular micro-environments particularly at low volume flow rates has been developed. Diode pumps have been shown to be a viable alternative to mechanically driven pumps. Typically electrokinetic micro-pumps were limited to low-concentration solutions (≤10 mM). In our approach, surface mount diodes were embedded along the sidewalls of a microchannel to rectify externally applied alternating current into pulsed direct current power across the diodes in order to generate EOS flows. This approach has for the first time generated flows at ultra-low flow rates (from 2.0 nl/s to 12.3 nl/s) in aqueous solutions with concentrations greater than 100 mM. The range of flow was generated by changing the electric field strength applied to the diodes from 0.5 Vpp/cm to 10 Vpp/cm. Embedding an additional diode on the upper surface of the enclosed microchannel increased flow rates further. We characterized the diode pump-driven fluidics in terms of intensities and frequencies of electric inputs, pH values of solutions, and solution types. As part of this study, we found that the growth of A549 human lung cancer cells was positively affected in the microfluidic diode pumping system. Though the chemical reaction compromised the fluidic control overtime, the system could be maintained fully functional over a long time if the solution was changed every hour. In conclusion, the advantage of miniature size and ability to accurately control fluids at ultra-low volume flow rates can make this diode pumping system attractive to lab-on-a-chip applications and biomedical engineering in vitro studies.

A novel miniature dynamic microfluidic cell culture platform using electro-osmosis diode pumping

PubMed Central

Chang, Jen-Yung; Wang, Shuo; Allen, Jeffrey S.; Lee, Seong Hyuk; Chang, Suk Tai; Choi, Young-Ki; Friedrich, Craig; Choi, Chang Kyoung

2014-01-01

An electro-osmosis (EOS) diode pumping platform capable of culturing cells in fluidic cellular micro-environments particularly at low volume flow rates has been developed. Diode pumps have been shown to be a viable alternative to mechanically driven pumps. Typically electrokinetic micro-pumps were limited to low-concentration solutions (≤10 mM). In our approach, surface mount diodes were embedded along the sidewalls of a microchannel to rectify externally applied alternating current into pulsed direct current power across the diodes in order to generate EOS flows. This approach has for the first time generated flows at ultra-low flow rates (from 2.0 nl/s to 12.3 nl/s) in aqueous solutions with concentrations greater than 100 mM. The range of flow was generated by changing the electric field strength applied to the diodes from 0.5 Vpp/cm to 10 Vpp/cm. Embedding an additional diode on the upper surface of the enclosed microchannel increased flow rates further. We characterized the diode pump-driven fluidics in terms of intensities and frequencies of electric inputs, pH values of solutions, and solution types. As part of this study, we found that the growth of A549 human lung cancer cells was positively affected in the microfluidic diode pumping system. Though the chemical reaction compromised the fluidic control overtime, the system could be maintained fully functional over a long time if the solution was changed every hour. In conclusion, the advantage of miniature size and ability to accurately control fluids at ultra-low volume flow rates can make this diode pumping system attractive to lab-on-a-chip applications and biomedical engineering in vitro studies. PMID:25379101

1.4-7.2  μm broadband supercontinuum generation in an As-S chalcogenide tapered fiber pumped in the normal dispersion regime.

PubMed

Wang, Yingying; Dai, Shixun; Li, Guangtao; Xu, Dong; You, Chenyang; Han, Xin; Zhang, Peiqing; Wang, Xunsi; Xu, Peipeng

2017-09-01

We report a broadband supercontinuum (SC) generation in chalcogenide (ChG) step-index tapered fibers pumped in the normal dispersion regime. The fibers consisting of As 2 S 3 core and As 38 S 62 cladding glasses were fabricated using the isolated stacked extrusion method. A homemade tapering platform allows us to accurately control the core diameters and transition region lengths of the tapered fibers. An SC generation spanning from 1.4 to 7.2 μm was achieved by pumping a 12-cm-long tapered fiber with femtosecond laser pulses at 3.25 μm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the broadest SC generation obtained experimentally in tapered fibers when pumped in the normal dispersion regime so far. The effects of waist diameter and transition region length of the tapered fiber on the SC spectral behavior were also investigated.

Diode pumped alkali vapor fiber laser

DOEpatents

Payne, Stephen A.; Beach, Raymond J.; Dawson, Jay W.; Krupke, William F.

2007-10-23

A method and apparatus is provided for producing near-diffraction-limited laser light, or amplifying near-diffraction-limited light, in diode pumped alkali vapor photonic-band-gap fiber lasers or amplifiers. Laser light is both substantially generated and propagated in an alkali gas instead of a solid, allowing the nonlinear and damage limitations of conventional solid core fibers to be circumvented. Alkali vapor is introduced into the center hole of a photonic-band-gap fiber, which can then be pumped with light from a pump laser and operated as an oscillator with a seed beam, or can be configured as an amplifier.

Diode pumped alkali vapor fiber laser

DOEpatents

Payne, Stephen A [Castro Valley, CA; Beach, Raymond J [Livermore, CA; Dawson, Jay W [Livermore, CA; Krupke, William F [Pleasanton, CA

2006-07-26

A method and apparatus is provided for producing near-diffraction-limited laser light, or amplifying near-diffraction-limited light, in diode pumped alkali vapor photonic-band-gap fiber lasers or amplifiers. Laser light is both substantially generated and propagated in an alkali gas instead of a solid, allowing the nonlinear and damage limitations of conventional solid core fibers to be circumvented. Alkali vapor is introduced into the center hole of a photonic-band-gap fiber, which can then be pumped with light from a pump laser and operated as an oscillator with a seed beam, or can be configured as an amplifier.

Red-green-blue (RGB) light generator using tapered fiber pumped with a frequency-doubled Yb-fiber laser.

PubMed

Rusu, M; Kivistö, Samuli; Gawith, C; Okhotnikov, O

2005-10-17

We report on successful realization of a picosecond visible-continuum source embedding a single mode fiber taper. The output of ytterbium mode-locked fiber laser was frequency doubled in a periodically-polled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal to produce green pump light. Spectral brightness of the white light generated in the tapered fiber was improved by limiting the broadening just to the visible wavelengths. The influence of taper parameters, particularly the dispersion, on white light spectrum has been studied.

Red-green-blue (RGB) light generator using tapered fiber pumped with a frequency-doubled Yb-fiber laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusu, M.; Kivistö, Samuli; Gawith, C. B. E.; Okhotnikov, O. G.

2005-10-01

We report on successful realization of a picosecond visible-continuum source embedding a single mode fiber taper. The output of ytterbium mode-locked fiber laser was frequency doubled in a periodically-polled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal to produce green pump light. Spectral brightness of the white light generated in the tapered fiber was improved by limiting the broadening just to the visible wavelengths. The influence of taper parameters, particularly the dispersion, on white light spectrum has been studied.

Latest developments in resonantly diode-pumped Er:YAG lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kudryashov, Igor; Garbuzov, Dmitri; Dubinskii, Mark

2007-04-01

Significant performance improvement of the Er(0.5%):YAG diode pumped solid state laser (DPSSL) has been achieved by pump diode spectral narrowing via implementation of an external volumetric Bragg grating (VBG). Without spectral narrowing, with a pump path length of 15 mm, only 37% of 1532 nm pump was absorbed. After the VBG spectral narrowing, the absorption of the pumping radiation increased to 62 - 70%. As a result, the incident power threshold was reduced by a factor of 2.5, and the efficiency increased by a factor of 1.7, resulting in a slope efficiency of ~23 - 30%. A maximum of 51 W of CW power was obtained versus 31 W without the pump spectrum narrowing. More than 180 mJ QCW pulse output energy was obtained in a stable-unstable resonator configuration with a beam quality of M2 = 1.3 in the stable direction and M2 = 1.1 in the unstable direction. The measured slope efficiency was 0.138 J/J with a threshold energy of 0.91 J.

Comparison for 1030nm DBR-tapered diode lasers with 10W central lobe output power and different grating layouts for wavelength stabilization and lateral spatial mode filtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, André; Zink, Christof; Fricke, Jörg; Bugge, Frank; Erbert, Götz; Sumpf, Bernd; Tränkle, Günther

2018-02-01

1030 nm DBR tapered diode lasers with different lateral layouts are presented. The layout comparison includes lasers with straight waveguide and grating, tapered waveguide and straight grating, and straight waveguide and tapered grating. The lasers provide narrowband emission and optical output powers up to 15 W. The highest diffraction-limited central lobe output power of 10.5 W is obtained for lasers with tapered gratings only. Small variations in central lobe output power with RW injection current density also indicate the robustness of that layout. For lasers with tapered waveguides, high RW injection current densities up to 150 A/mm2 have to be applied in order to obtain high central lobe output powers. Lasers with straight waveguide and grating operate best at low RW injection current densities, 50 A/mm2 applied in this study. Using the layout optimizations discussed in this study may help to increase the application potential of DBR tapered diode lasers.

Kerr-lens mode-locked Ti:Sapphire laser pumped by a single laser diode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopylov, D. A.; Esaulkov, M. N.; Kuritsyn, I. I.; Mavritskiy, A. O.; Perminov, B. E.; Konyashchenko, A. V.; Murzina, T. V.; Maydykovskiy, A. I.

2018-04-01

The performance of a Ti:sapphire laser pumped by a single 461 nm laser diode is presented for both the continuous-wave and the mode-locked regimes of operation. We introduce a simple astigmatism correction scheme for the laser diode beam consisting of two cylindrical lenses affecting the pump beam along the fast axis of the laser diode, which provides the mode-matching between the nearly square-shaped pump beam and the cavity mode. The resulting efficiency of the suggested Ti:Sapphire oscillator pumped by such a laser diode is analyzed for the Ti:sapphire crystals of 3 mm, 5 mm and 10 mm in length. We demonstrate that such a system provides the generation of ultrashort pulses up to 15 fs in duration with the repetition rate of 87 MHz, the average power being 170 mW.

Single-frequency diode-pumped lasers for free-space optical communication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kane, Thomas J.; Cheng, Emily A. P.; Gerstenberger, David C.; Wallace, Richard W.

1990-01-01

Recent advances in laser technology for intersatellite optical communication systems are reviewed and illustrated with graphs and diagrams. Topics addressed include (1) single-frequency diode-pumped Nd:YAG lasers of monolithic ring configuration (yielding 368-384 mW output power with 1-W pumping), (2) injection chaining of up to 10 monolithic resonators to achieve redundancy and/or higher output power, (3) 2-kHz-linewidth 5-mW versions of (1) which are tunable over a 30-MHz range for use as local oscillators in coherent communication, (4) resonant external modulation and doubling or resonant phase modulation of diode-pumped lasers, and (5) wavelength multiplexing.

Theoretical calculations and experimental verification for the pumping effect caused by the dynamic micro-tapered angle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Yufei; Zhang, Jianhui; Zhu, Chunling; Huang, Jun; Jiang, Feng

2016-05-01

The atomizer with micro cone apertures has advantages of ultra-fine atomized droplets, low power consumption and low temperature rise. The current research of this kind of atomizer mainly focuses on the performance and its application while there is less research of the principle of the atomization. Under the analysis of the dispenser and its micro-tapered aperture's deformation, the volume changes during the deformation and vibration of the micro-tapered aperture on the dispenser are calculated by coordinate transformation. Based on the characters of the flow resistance in a cone aperture, it is found that the dynamic cone angle results from periodical changes of the volume of the micro-tapered aperture of the atomizer and this change drives one-way flows. Besides, an experimental atomization platform is established to measure the atomization rates with different resonance frequencies of the cone aperture atomizer. The atomization performances of cone aperture and straight aperture atomizers are also measured. The experimental results show the existence of the pumping effect of the dynamic tapered angle. This effect is usually observed in industries that require low dispersion and micro- and nanoscale grain sizes, such as during production of high-pressure nozzles and inhalation therapy. Strategies to minimize the pumping effect of the dynamic cone angle or improve future designs are important concerns. This research proposes that dynamic micro-tapered angle is an important cause of atomization of the atomizer with micro cone apertures.

Diode lasers optimized in brightness for fiber laser pumping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelemen, M.; Gilly, J.; Friedmann, P.; Hilzensauer, S.; Ogrodowski, L.; Kissel, H.; Biesenbach, J.

2018-02-01

In diode laser applications for fiber laser pumping and fiber-coupled direct diode laser systems high brightness becomes essential in the last years. Fiber coupled modules benefit from continuous improvements of high-power diode lasers on chip level regarding output power, efficiency and beam characteristics resulting in record highbrightness values and increased pump power. To gain high brightness not only output power must be increased, but also near field widths and far field angles have to be below a certain value for higher power levels because brightness is proportional to output power divided by beam quality. While fast axis far fields typically show a current independent behaviour, for broadarea lasers far-fields in the slow axis suffer from a strong current and temperature dependence, limiting the brightness and therefore their use in fibre coupled modules. These limitations can be overcome by carefully optimizing chip temperature, thermal lensing and lateral mode structure by epitaxial and lateral resonator designs and processing. We present our latest results for InGaAs/AlGaAs broad-area single emitters with resonator lengths of 4mm emitting at 976nm and illustrate the improvements in beam quality over the last years. By optimizing the diode laser design a record value of the brightness for broad-area lasers with 4mm resonator length of 126 MW/cm2sr has been demonstrated with a maximum wall-plug efficiency of more than 70%. From these design also pump modules based on 9 mini-bars consisting of 5 emitters each have been realized with 360W pump power.

Efficient, diode-laser-pumped, diode-laser-seeded, high-peak-power Nd:YLF regenerative amplifier.

PubMed

Selker, M D; Afzal, R S; Dallas, J L; Yu, A W

1994-04-15

Optical amplification of 11 orders of magnitude in a microlens-collimated, diode-laser-pumped regenerative amplifier has been demonstrated. The amplifier was seeded with 20-ps pulses from an FM mode-locked oscillator and with 0.9-ns pulses from a modulated diode laser. Seed pulses from both sources were amplified to energies exceeding 2.5 mJ. With the thermoelectric coolers and the Pockels cell electronics neglected, the diode-seeded system exhibited an electrical-to-optical efficiency of 2.2%.

High temperature semiconductor diode laser pumps for high energy laser applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Jenna; Semenic, Tadej; Guinn, Keith; Leisher, Paul O.; Bhunia, Avijit; Mashanovitch, Milan; Renner, Daniel

2018-02-01

Existing thermal management technologies for diode laser pumps place a significant load on the size, weight and power consumption of High Power Solid State and Fiber Laser systems, thus making current laser systems very large, heavy, and inefficient in many important practical applications. To mitigate this thermal management burden, it is desirable for diode pumps to operate efficiently at high heat sink temperatures. In this work, we have developed a scalable cooling architecture, based on jet-impingement technology with industrial coolant, for efficient cooling of diode laser bars. We have demonstrated 60% electrical-to-optical efficiency from a 9xx nm two-bar laser stack operating with propylene-glycolwater coolant, at 50 °C coolant temperature. To our knowledge, this is the highest efficiency achieved from a diode stack using 50 °C industrial fluid coolant. The output power is greater than 100 W per bar. Stacks with additional laser bars are currently in development, as this cooler architecture is scalable to a 1 kW system. This work will enable compact and robust fiber-coupled diode pump modules for high energy laser applications.

New laser materials for laser diode pumping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jenssen, H. P.

1990-01-01

The potential advantages of laser diode pumped solid state lasers are many with high overall efficiency being the most important. In order to realize these advantages, the solid state laser material needs to be optimized for diode laser pumping and for the particular application. In the case of the Nd laser, materials with a longer upper level radiative lifetime are desirable. This is because the laser diode is fundamentally a cw source, and to obtain high energy storage, a long integration time is necessary. Fluoride crystals are investigated as host materials for the Nd laser and also for IR laser transitions in other rare earths, such as the 2 micron Ho laser and the 3 micron Er laser. The approach is to investigate both known crystals, such as BaY2F8, as well as new crystals such as NaYF8. Emphasis is on the growth and spectroscopy of BaY2F8. These two efforts are parallel efforts. The growth effort is aimed at establishing conditions for obtaining large, high quality boules for laser samples. This requires numerous experimental growth runs; however, from these runs, samples suitable for spectroscopy become available.

Towards diode-pumped mid-infrared praseodymium-ytterbium-doped fluoride fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woodward, R. I.; Hudson, D. D.; Jackson, S. D.

2018-02-01

We explore the potential of a new mid-infrared laser transition in praseodymium-doped fluoride fiber for emission around 3.4 μm, which can be conveniently pumped by 0.975 μm diodes via ytterbium sensitizer co-doping. Optimal cavity designs are determined through spectroscopic measurements and numerical modeling, suggesting that practical diode-pumped watt-level mid-infrared fiber sources beyond 3 μm could be achieved.

A Modular Control Platform for a Diode Pumped Alkali Laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shapiro, J.; Teare, S.

Many of the difficulties of creating compact, high power laser systems can be overcome if the heat dissipating properties of chemical lasers can be combined with the efficiency of diode lasers. Recently, the novel idea of using solid state diode lasers to pump gaseous gain media, such as is done in diode pumped alkali lasers (DPALs), has been proposed and early experiments have shown promising results. However, a number of technical issues need to be overcome to realize high output power from these lasers. In order to achieve higher power, the efficiency of coupling between pump laser energy and the chemical cell must be increased, and eventually multiple high power diode pumps must be combined and synchronized so that their energy can pump the chemical cell. Additionally, an inter-cavity adaptive optics system may be a requirement to be able to propagate these lasers with high efficiency. DPAL systems are complex and require a significant amount of data fusion and active feedback to control and optimize their performance. There are a wide range of components including pump lasers, gain cells and monitoring points needed to study and refine the overall laser system. In support of this dynamic development environment, we have developed a hardware framework using commercial off the shelf (COTS) components which supports the rapid assembly of functional system blocks into a cohesive integrated system. Critical to this system are a simple communication protocol, industry standard communication pipes (USB, Bluetooth, etc), and flexible high level scripting. Simplifying the integration process has the benefit of allowing flexible "on the fly" modifications to adapt the system as needed and enhance available functionality. The modular nature of the architecture allows scalability and adaptability as more pieces are added to the system. Key components of this system are demonstrated for selected portions of a DPAL system using a USB backbone.

Carrier envelope offset frequency detection and stabilization of a diode-pumped mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser.

PubMed

Gürel, Kutan; Wittwer, Valentin J; Hakobyan, Sargis; Schilt, Stéphane; Südmeyer, Thomas

2017-03-15

We demonstrate the first diode-pumped Ti:sapphire laser frequency comb. It is pumped by two green laser diodes with a total pump power of 3 W. The Ti:sapphire laser generates 250 mW of average output power in 61-fs pulses at a repetition rate of 216 MHz. We generated an octave-spanning supercontinuum spectrum in a photonic-crystal fiber and detected the carrier envelope offset (CEO) frequency in a standard f-to-2f interferometer setup. We stabilized the CEO-frequency through direct current modulation of one of the green pump diodes with a feedback bandwidth of 55 kHz limited by the pump diode driver used in this experiment. We achieved a reduction of the CEO phase noise power spectral density by 140 dB at 1 Hz offset frequency. An advantage of diode pumping is the ability for high-bandwidth modulation of the pump power via direct current modulation. After this experiment, we studied the modulation capabilities and noise properties of green pump laser diodes with improved driver electronics. The current-to-output-power modulation transfer function shows a bandwidth larger than 1 MHz, which should be sufficient to fully exploit the modulation bandwidth of the Ti:sapphire gain for CEO stabilization in future experiments.

Active media for up-conversion diode-pumped lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tkachuk, Alexandra M.

1996-03-01

In this work, we consider the different methods of populating the initial and final working levels of laser transitions in TR-doped crystals under the selective 'up-conversion' and 'avalanche' diode laser pumping. On the basis of estimates of the probabilities of competing non-radiative energy-transfer processes rates obtained from the experimental data and theoretical calculations, we estimated the efficiency of the up-conversion pumping and selfquenching of the upper TR3+ states excited by laser-diode emission. The effect of the host composition, dopant concentration, and temperature on the output characteristics and up-conversion processes in YLF:Er; BaY2F8:Er; BaY2F8:Er,Yb and BaY2F8:Yb,Ho are determined.

Environmental testing of a diode-laser-pumped Nd:YAG laser and a set of diode-laser-arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hemmati, H.; Lesh, J. R.

1989-01-01

Results of the environmental test of a compact, rigid and lightweight diode-laser-pumped Nd:YAG laser module are discussed. All optical elements are bonded onto the module using space applicable epoxy, and two 200 mW diode laser arrays for pump sources are used to achieve 126 mW of CW output with about 7 percent electrical-to-optical conversion efficiency. This laser assembly and a set of 20 semiconductor diode laser arrays were environmentally tested by being subjected to vibrational and thermal conditions similar to those experienced during launch of the Space Shuttle, and both performed well. Nevertheless, some damage to the laser front facet in diode lasers was observed. Significant degradation was observed only on lasers which performed poorly in the life test. Improvements in the reliability of the Nd:YAG laser are suggested.

Diode-pumped mode-locked femtosecond Tm:CLNGG disordered crystal laser.

PubMed

Ma, J; Xie, G Q; Gao, W L; Yuan, P; Qian, L J; Yu, H H; Zhang, H J; Wang, J Y

2012-04-15

A diode-end-pumped passively mode-locked femtosecond Tm-doped calcium lithium niobium gallium garnet (Tm:CLNGG) disordered crystal laser was demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. With a 790 nm laser diode pumping, stable CW mode-locking operation was obtained by using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. The disordered crystal laser generated mode-locked pulses as short as 479 fs, with an average output power of 288 mW, and repetition rate of 99 MHz in 2 μm spectral region. © 2012 Optical Society of America

Resonantly diode-pumped eye-safe Er:YAG laser with fiber-shaped crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Němec, Michal; Šulc, Jan; Hlinomaz, Kryštof; Jelínková, Helena; Nejezchleb, Karel; Čech, Miroslav

2018-02-01

Solid-state eye-safe lasers are interesting sources for various applications, such as lidar, remote sensing, and ranging. A resonantly diode-pumped Er:YAG laser could be one of them allowing to reach a tunable laser emission in 1.6 μm spectral region. To overcome low pump absorption and poor pumping beam quality generated by commercially available laser diode, an active medium could be formed to long and thin laser rod guiding pumping radiation. Such an effective cooling during a high power pumping, which is a "crystal-fiber" benefit, may be useful for "standard" crystal active medium. The main goal of this work was to investigate the laser characteristics of new developed Er:YAG crystal with a special shape for diode-pumping. Er:YAG fiber-shape crystal with square cross-section (1x1mm) and 40mm in length was doped by 0.1% Er3+ ions. All sides of this crystal were polished and in addition the end-faces of it were antireflection coatings for the wavelength 1470 and 1645 nm. As a pump system, a fiber coupled laser diode (f = 10 Hz, t = 10 ms) emitting radiation at 1465 nm wavelength was used. Er:YAG fiber-shape crystal was placed onto a copper holder in the 85 mm long plan-concave resonator consisting of a pump flat mirror and output curved (r = 150 mm) coupler with a reflectivity of 96 % @ 1645 nm. The dependence of the output peak power on absorbed pump power was investigated and the maximum 0.8 W was obtained. The corresponding slope efficiency was 14.5 %. The emitting wavelength was equaled to 1645 nm (4 nm linewidth, FWHM). The spatial beam structure was close to the Gaussian mode.

Diode-pumped ytterbium-doped Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F laser performance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marshall, C.D.; Smith, L.K.; Beach, R.J.

The performance of the first diode-pumped Yb{sup 3+}-doped Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sup 3}F (Yb:S-FAP) solid-state laser is discussed. An InGaAs diode array has been fabricated that has suitable specifications for pumping a 3 x 3 x 30 mm Yb:S-FAP rod. The saturation fluence for diode pumping was deduced to be 5.5 J/cm{sup 2} for the particular 2.8 kW peak power diode array utilized in the studies. This is 2.5{times} higher than the intrinsic 2.2 J/cm{sup 2} saturation fluence as is attributed to the 6.5 nm bandwidth of the diode pump array. The small signal gain is consistent with the previously measuredmore » emission cross section of 6.0 {times} 10{sup {minus}20} cm{sup 2}, obtained from a narrowband-laser pumped gain experiment. Up to 1.7 J/cm{sup 3} of stored energy density was achieved in a 6 x 6 x 44 mm Yb:S-FAP amplifier rod. In a free running configuration, diode-pumped slope efficiencies up to 43% (laser output energy/absorbed pump energy) were observed with output energies up to {approximately}0.5 J per 1 ms pulse. When the rod was mounted in a copper block for cooling, 13 W of average power was produced with power supply limited operation at 70 Hz with 500 {micro}s pulses.« less

Semiconductor Laser Diode Pumps for Inertial Fusion Energy Lasers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deri, R J

2011-01-03

Solid-state lasers have been demonstrated as attractive drivers for inertial confinement fusion on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and at the Omega Facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in Rochester, NY. For power plant applications, these lasers must be pumped by semiconductor diode lasers to achieve the required laser system efficiency, repetition rate, and lifetime. Inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plants will require approximately 40-to-80 GW of peak pump power, and must operate efficiently and with high system availability for decades. These considerations lead to requirements on the efficiency, price, and productionmore » capacity of the semiconductor pump sources. This document provides a brief summary of these requirements, and how they can be met by a natural evolution of the current semiconductor laser industry. The detailed technical requirements described in this document flow down from a laser ampl9ifier design described elsewhere. In brief, laser amplifiers comprising multiple Nd:glass gain slabs are face-pumped by two planar diode arrays, each delivering 30 to 40 MW of peak power at 872 nm during a {approx} 200 {micro}s quasi-CW (QCW) pulse with a repetition rate in the range of 10 to 20 Hz. The baseline design of the diode array employs a 2D mosaic of submodules to facilitate manufacturing. As a baseline, they envision that each submodule is an array of vertically stacked, 1 cm wide, edge-emitting diode bars, an industry standard form factor. These stacks are mounted on a common backplane providing cooling and current drive. Stacks are conductively cooled to the backplane, to minimize both diode package cost and the number of fluid interconnects for improved reliability. While the baseline assessment in this document is based on edge-emitting devices, the amplifier design does not preclude future use of surface emitting diodes, which may offer appreciable future cost

Prototype laser-diode-pumped solid state laser transmitters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kane, Thomas J.; Cheng, Emily A. P.; Wallace, Richard W.

1989-01-01

Monolithic, diode-pumped Nd:YAG ring lasers can provide diffraction-limited, single-frequency, narrow-linewidth, tunable output which is adequate for use as a local oscillator in a coherent communication system. A laser was built which had a linewidth of about 2 kHz, a power of 5 milliwatts, and which was tunable over a range of 30 MHz in a few microseconds. This laser was phase-locked to a second, similar laser. This demonstrates that the powerful technique of heterodyne detection is possible with a diode-pumped laser used as the local oscillator. Laser diode pumping of monolithic Nd:YAG rings can lead to output powers of hundreds of milliwatts from a single laser. A laser was built with a single-mode output of 310 mW. Several lasers can be chained together to sum their power, while maintaining diffraction-limited, single frequency operation. This technique was demonstrated with two lasers, with a total output of 340 mW, and is expected to be practical for up to about ten lasers. Thus with lasers of 310 mW, output of up to 3 W is possible. The chaining technique, if properly engineered, results in redundancy. The technique of resonant external modulation and doubling is designed to efficiently convert the continuous wave, infrared output of our lasers into low duty-cycle pulsed green output. This technique was verified through both computer modeling and experimentation. Further work would be necessary to develop a deliverable system using this technique.

Power scaling of diode-pumped neodymium yttrium aluminum borate laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hemmati, Hamid

1991-01-01

Preliminary results are presented of the efficient diode-pumped operation of a neodymium yttrium aluminum borate (NYAB) laser at 531.5 nm using two 1-W diode-laser arrays for the pump. With 1380 mW of CW power incident on the crystal, as much as 51 mW of 532.5-nm laser radiation was obtained with the unoptimized cavity. The corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency was 3.7 percent. A plot of the output 531.5 nm vs incident 807 nm pump power is shown. The crystal output power was critically dependent on the rotational and translational adjustment of the NYAB crystal inside the cavity. It is suggested that a crystal cut at the exact phase matching angle, placed in a cavity with proper optimal reflection and transmission mirror coatings, and pumped at proper wavelength can result in higher output power. Thus, the NYAB output power approaches that of a CW intracavity frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser.

Pump polarization insensitive and efficient laser-diode pumped Yb:KYW ultrafast oscillator.

PubMed

Wang, Sha; Wang, Yan-Biao; Feng, Guo-Ying; Zhou, Shou-Huan

2016-02-01

We theoretically and experimentally report and evaluate a novel split laser-diode (LD) double-end pumped Yb:KYW ultrafast oscillator aimed at improving the performance of an ultrafast laser. Compared to a conventional unpolarized single-LD end-pumped ultrafast laser system, we improve the laser performance such as absorption efficiency, slope efficiency, cw mode-locking threshold, and output power by this new structure LD-pumped Yb:KYW ultrafast laser. Experiments were carried out with a 1 W output fiber-coupled LD. Experimental results show that the absorption increases from 38.7% to 48.4%, laser slope efficiency increases from 18.3% to 24.2%, cw mode-locking threshold decreases 12.7% from 630 to 550 mW in cw mode-locking threshold, and maximum output-power increases 28.5% from 158.4 to 221.5 mW when we switch the pump scheme from an unpolarized single-end pumping structure to a split LD double-end pumping structure.

Update on diode-pumped solid-state laser experiments for inertial fusion energy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marshall, C.; Smith, L.; Payne, S.

The authors have completed the initial phase of the diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) experimental program to validate the expected pumping dynamics and extraction cross-sections of Yb{sup 3+}-doped Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F (Yb:S-FAP) crystals. Yb:S-FAP crystals up to 25 x 25 x 175 mm in size have been grown for this purpose which have acceptable loss characteristics (<1 %/cm) and laser damage thresholds ({approximately}20 J/cm{sup 2}). The saturation fluence for pumping has been measured to be 2.2 J/cm{sup 2} using three different methods based on either the spatial, temporal, or energy transmission properties of a Yb:S-FAP rod. The small signal gainmore » under saturated pumping conditions was measured. These measurements imply an emission cross section of 6.0 x 10{sup {minus}20} cm{sup 2} that falls within error bars of the previously reported value of 7.3 x 10{sup {minus}20} cm{sup 2}, obtained from purely spectroscopic techniques. The effects of radiation trapping on the emission lifetime have been quantified. The long lifetime of Yb:S-FAP has beneficial effects for diode-pumped amplifier designs, relative to materials with equivalent cross sections but shorter lifetimes, in that less peak pump intensity is required (thus lower diode costs) and that lower spontaneous emission rates lead to a reduction in amplified spontaneous emission. Consequently, up to 1.7 J/cm{sup 3} of stored energy density was achieved in a 6x6x44 mm Yb:S-FAP amplifier rod; this stored energy density is large relative to typical flashlamp-pumped Nd:glass values of 0.3 to 0.5 J/cm{sup 3}. A 2.4 kW peak power InGaAs diode array has been fabricated by Beach, Emanuel, and co-workers which meets the central wavelength, bandwidth, and energy specifications for the author`s immediate experiments. These results further increase their optimism of being able to produce a {approximately} 10% efficient diode-pumped solid state laser for inertial fusion energy.« less

Theoretical analyses of an injection-locked diode-pumped rubidium vapor laser.

PubMed

Cai, He; Gao, Chunqing; Liu, Xiaoxu; Wang, Shunyan; Yu, Hang; Rong, Kepeng; An, Guofei; Han, Juhong; Zhang, Wei; Wang, Hongyuan; Wang, You

2018-04-02

Diode-pumped alkali lasers (DPALs) have drawn much attention since they were proposed in 2001. The narrow-linewidth DPAL can be potentially applied in the fields of coherent communication, laser radar, and atomic spectroscopy. In this study, we propose a novel protocol to narrow the width of one kind of DPAL, diode-pumped rubidium vapor laser (DPRVL), by use of an injection locking technique. A kinetic model is first set up for an injection-locked DPRVL with the end-pumped configuration. The laser tunable duration is also analyzed for a continuous wave (CW) injection-locked DPRVL system. Then, the influences of the pump power, power of a master laser, and reflectance of an output coupler on the output performance are theoretically analyzed. The study should be useful for design of a narrow-linewidth DPAL with the relatively high output.

Direct diode pumped Ti:sapphire ultrafast regenerative amplifier system

DOE PAGES

Backus, Sterling; Durfee, Charles; Lemons, Randy; ...

2017-02-10

Here, we report on a direct diode-pumped Ti:sapphire ultrafast regenerative amplifier laser system producing multi-uJ energies with repetition rate from 50 to 250 kHz. By combining cryogenic cooling of Ti:sapphire with high brightness fiber-coupled 450nm laser diodes, we for the first time demonstrate a power-scalable CW-pumped architecture that can be directly applied to demanding ultrafast applications such as coherent high-harmonic EUV generation without any complex post-amplification pulse compression. Initial results promise a new era for Ti:sapphire amplifiers not only for ultrafast laser applications, but also for tunable CW sources. We discuss the unique challenges to implementation, as well as themore » solutions to these challenges.« less

Direct diode pumped Ti:sapphire ultrafast regenerative amplifier system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Backus, Sterling; Durfee, Charles; Lemons, Randy

Here, we report on a direct diode-pumped Ti:sapphire ultrafast regenerative amplifier laser system producing multi-uJ energies with repetition rate from 50 to 250 kHz. By combining cryogenic cooling of Ti:sapphire with high brightness fiber-coupled 450nm laser diodes, we for the first time demonstrate a power-scalable CW-pumped architecture that can be directly applied to demanding ultrafast applications such as coherent high-harmonic EUV generation without any complex post-amplification pulse compression. Initial results promise a new era for Ti:sapphire amplifiers not only for ultrafast laser applications, but also for tunable CW sources. We discuss the unique challenges to implementation, as well as themore » solutions to these challenges.« less

Nd:GdVO4 ring laser pumped by laser diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, E. J.; Li, T.; Wang, Z. D.; Zhang, Y.

2013-02-01

The design and operation of a laser diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 ring laser is described. A composite crystal (Nd:GdVO4/YVO4) with undoped ends is single-end pumped by a fiber-coupled laser diode (LD) at 808 nm. A four-mirror ring cavity is designed to keep the laser operating unidirectionally, which eliminates spatial hole burning in the standing-wave cavity. This laser can operate either as continuous wave (CW) or Q-switched. The single-frequency power obtained was 9.1 W at 1063 nm. Q-switched operation produced 0.23 mJ/pulse at 20 kHz in the fundamental laser.

Er-doped YVO4 amplifier diode pumped at 976 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newburgh, G. A.; Dubinskii, Mark

2016-05-01

We report on the use of a 976 nm diode pumped Er:YVO4 slab for the amplification of 1603 nm laser radiation with a small signal gain of 2.1. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first use of Er:YVO4 as a non-resonantly pumped amplifier.

High power diode lasers for solid-state laser pumps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Linden, Kurt J.; Mcdonnell, Patrick N.

1994-01-01

The development and commercial application of high power diode laser arrays for use as solid-state laser pumps is described. Such solid-state laser pumps are significantly more efficient and reliable than conventional flash-lamps. This paper describes the design and fabrication of diode lasers emitting in the 780 - 900 nm spectral region, and discusses their performance and reliability. Typical measured performance parameters include electrical-to-optical power conversion efficiencies of 50 percent, narrow-band spectral emission of 2 to 3 nm FWHM, pulsed output power levels of 50 watts/bar with reliability values of over 2 billion shots to date (tests to be terminated after 10 billion shots), and reliable operation to pulse lengths of 1 ms. Pulse lengths up to 5 ms have been demonstrated at derated power levels, and CW performance at various power levels has been evaluated in a 'bar-in-groove' laser package. These high-power 1-cm stacked-bar arrays are now being manufactured for OEM use. Individual diode laser bars, ready for package-mounting by OEM customers, are being sold as commodity items. Commercial and medical applications of these laser arrays include solid-state laser pumping for metal-working, cutting, industrial measurement and control, ranging, wind-shear/atmospheric turbulence detection, X-ray generation, materials surface cleaning, microsurgery, ophthalmology, dermatology, and dental procedures.

Theoretical study on the thermal and optical features of a diode side-pumped alkali laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Juhong; Liu, Xiaoxu; Wang, Hongyuan; Cai, He; An, Guofei; Zhang, Wei; Wang, You

2018-03-01

As one of the most hopeful candidates to achieve high power performances, a diode-pumped alkali laser (DPAL) has attracted a lot of attention in the last decade. Comparing with a diode end-pumped alkali laser (DEPAL), a diode side-pumped alkali laser (DSPAL) has great potentiality to realize an even-higher output of alkali lasers. However, there are few related researching studies concern DSPAL. In this paper, we introduce a theoretical model to investigate the physical features of a double-directions side-pumped alkali laser. The distributions of the population density, temperature, and absorption power at the cross section of a vapor cell are systematically studied. The analyses should be valuable for design of a steady high-powered DPAL.

Diode pumped, regenerative Nd:YAG ring amplifier for space application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coyle, D. B.; Kay, Richard B.; Degnan, John J.; Krebs, Danny J.; Seery, Bernard D.

1992-01-01

The study reviews the research and development of a prototype laser used to study one possible method of short-pulse production and amplification, in particular, a pulsed Nd:YAG ring laser pumped by laser diode arrays and injected seeded by a 100-ps source. The diode array pumped, regenerative amplifier consists of only five optical elements, two mirrors, one thin film polarizer, one Nd:YAG crystal, and one pockels cell. The pockels cell performed both as a Q-switch and a cavity dumper for amplified pulse ejection through the thin film polarizer. The total optical efficiency was low principally due to the low gain provided by the 2-bar pumped laser head. After comparison with a computer model, a real seed threshold of about 10 exp -15 J was achieved because only about 0.1 percent of the injected energy mode-matched with the ring.

Modeling of a diode-pumped thin-disk cesium vapor laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Guofei; Cai, He; Liu, Xiaoxu; Han, Juhong; Zhang, Wei; Wang, Hongyuan; Wang, You

2018-03-01

A diode pumped alkali laser (DPAL) provides a significant potential for construction of high-powered lasers. Until now, a series of models have been established to analyze the kinetic process and most of them are based on the end-pumped alkali laser system in which the vapor cell are usually cylindrical and cuboid. In this paper, a mathematic model is constructed to investigate the kinetic processes of a diode pumped thin-disk cesium vapor laser, in which the cesium vapor and the buffer gases are beforehand filled in a sealed glass cell with a thin-disk structure. We systemically study the influences of the cell temperature and cell thickness on the output features of a thin-disk DPAL. Further, we study the thin-disk DPAL with the W-shaped resonator and multiple-disk configuration. To the best of our knowledge, there have not been any similar reports so far.

Diode-pumped solid state green laser for ophthalmologic application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eno, Taizo; Goto, Yoshiaki; Momiuchi, Masayuki

2002-10-01

We have developed diode pumped solid state green laser suitable for ophthalmologic applications. Beam parameters were designed by considering the coagulation system. We have lowered the beam quality to multi transverse and longitudinal mode on purpose to improve the speckle noise of the slit lamp output beam. The beam profile shows homogeneous intensity and it is very useful for ophthalmologic application. End pumping and short cavity configuration made it possible.

A diode-pumped Nd:YAlO3 dual-wavelength yellow light source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jing; Fu, Xihong; Zhai, Pei; Xia, Jing; Li, Shutao

2013-11-01

We present what is, to the best of our knowledge, the first diode-pumped Nd:YAlO3 (Nd:YAP) continuous-wave (cw) dual-wavelength yellow laser at 593 nm and 598 nm, based on sum-frequency generation between 1064 and 1339 nm in a-axis polarization using LBO crystal and between 1079 and 1341 nm in c-axis polarization using PPKTP crystal, respectively. At an incident pump power of 17.3 W, the maximum output power obtained at 593 nm and 598 nm is 0.18 W and 1.86 W, respectively. The laser experiment shows that Nd:YAP crystal can be used for an efficient diode-pumped dual-wavelength yellow laser system.

Improving Reliability of High Power Quasi-CW Laser Diode Arrays for Pumping Solid State Lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Meadows, Byron L.; Baker, Nathaniel R.; Barnes, Bruce W.; Baggott, Renee S.; Lockard, George E.; Singh, Upendra N.; Kavaya, Michael J.

2005-01-01

Most Lidar applications rely on moderate to high power solid state lasers to generate the required transmitted pulses. However, the reliability of solid state lasers, which can operate autonomously over long periods, is constrained by their laser diode pump arrays. Thermal cycling of the active regions is considered the primary reason for rapid degradation of the quasi-CW high power laser diode arrays, and the excessive temperature rise is the leading suspect in premature failure. The thermal issues of laser diode arrays are even more drastic for 2-micron solid state lasers which require considerably longer pump pulses compared to the more commonly used pump arrays for 1-micron lasers. This paper describes several advanced packaging techniques being employed for more efficient heat removal from the active regions of the laser diode bars. Experimental results for several high power laser diode array devices will be reported and their performance when operated at long pulsewidths of about 1msec will be described.

885-nm laser diode array pumped ceramic Nd:YAG master oscillator power amplifier system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Anthony W.; Li, Steven X.; Stephen, Mark A.; Seas, Antonios; Troupaki, Elisavet; Vasilyev, Aleksey; Conley, Heather; Filemyr, Tim; Kirchner, Cynthia; Rosanova, Alberto

2010-04-01

The objective of this effort is to develop more reliable, higher efficiency diode pumped Nd:YAG laser systems for space applications by leveraging technology investments from the DoD and other commercial industries. Our goal is to design, build, test and demonstrate the effectiveness of combining 885 nm laser pump diodes and the use of ceramic Nd:YAG for future flight missions. The significant reduction in thermal loading on the gain medium by the use of 885 nm pump lasers will improve system efficiency.

Theoretical investigation of output features of a diode-pumped rubidium vapor laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, You; Cai, He; Zhang, Wei; Xue, Liangping; Wang, Hongyuan; Han, Juhong

2014-02-01

In the recent years, diode-pumped alkali lasers (DPALs) have been paid many attentions because of their excellent performances. In fact, the characteristics of a DPAL strongly depend on the physical features of buffer gases. In this report, we selected a diode-pumped rubidium vapor laser (DPRVL), which is an important type among three common DPALs, to investigate how the characteristics of a DPRVL are affected by different conditions. The results signify that the population ratio of two excitation energy-levels are close to that corresponding to thermal equilibrium as the pressure of buffer gases and the temperature of a vapor cell become higher. It has been found that quenching of the upper levels cannot be simply ignored especially for the case of weak pump. The conclusions are thought to be helpful for the configuration design of an end-pumped DPAL.

Laser-diode pumped 40-W Yb:YAG ceramic laser.

PubMed

Hao, Qiang; Li, Wenxue; Pan, Haifeng; Zhang, Xiaoyi; Jiang, Benxue; Pan, Yubai; Zeng, Heping

2009-09-28

We demonstrated a high-power continuous-wave (CW) polycrystalline Yb:YAG ceramic laser pumped by fiber-pigtailed laser diode at 968 nm with 400 mum fiber core. The Yb:YAG ceramic laser performance was compared for different Yb(3+) ion concentrations in the ceramics by using a conventional end-pump laser cavity consisting of two flat mirrors with output couplers of different transmissions. A CW laser output of 40 W average power with M(2) factor of 5.8 was obtained with 5 mol% Yb concentration under 120 W incident pump power. This is to the best of our knowledge the highest output power in end-pumped bulk Yb:YAG ceramic laser.

Femtosecond diode-pumped mode-locked neodymium lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubeček, Václav; Jelínek, Michal; Čech, Miroslav; Vyhlídal, David; Su, Liangbi; Jiang, Dapeng; Ma, Fengkai; Qian, Xiaobo; Wang, Jingya; Xu, Jun

2016-12-01

Fluoride-type crystals (CaF2, SrF2) doped with neodymium Nd3+ and codoped with buffer ions for breaking clusters of active ions and increasing fluorescence efficiency, present interesting alternative as laser active media for the diode-pumped mode-locked lasers. In comparison with widely used materials as Nd:YAG or Nd:YVO4, they have broad emission spectra as well as longer fluorescence lifetime, in comparison with Nd:glass, SrF2 and CaF2 have better thermal conductivity. In spite of the fact, that this thermal conductivity decreases with Nd3+ doping concentration, these crystals are alternative for the Nd:glass in subpicosecond mode-locked laser systems. In this paper we review the basic results reported recently on these active materials and in the second part we present our results achieved in low power diode pumped passively mode locked lasers with Nd,La:CaF2 and Nd,Y:SrF2 crystals. The pulses as short as 258 fs at wavelength of 1057 nm were obtained in the first case, while 5 ps long pulses at 1065 nm were generated from the second laser system.

Resonantly diode-pumped continuous-wave and Q-switched Er:YAG laser at 1645 nm.

PubMed

Chang, N W H; Simakov, N; Hosken, D J; Munch, J; Ottaway, D J; Veitch, P J

2010-06-21

We describe an efficient Er:YAG laser that is resonantly pumped using continuous-wave (CW) laser diodes at 1470 nm. For CW lasing, it emits 6.1 W at 1645 nm with a slope efficiency of 36%, the highest efficiency reported for an Er:YAG laser that is pumped in this manner. In Q-switched operation, the laser produces diffraction-limited pulses with an average power of 2.5 W at 2 kHz PRF. To our knowledge this is the first Q-switched Er:YAG laser resonantly pumped by CW laser diodes.

Modeling of the gain distribution for diode pumping of a solid-state laser rod with nonimaging optics.

PubMed

Koshel, R J; Walmsley, I A

1993-03-20

We investigate the absorption distribution in a cylindrical gain medium that is pumped by a source of distributed laser diodes by means of a pump cavity developed from the edge-ray principle of nonimaging optics. The performance of this pumping arrangement is studied by using a nonsequential, numerical, three-dimensional ray-tracing scheme. A figure of merit is defined for the pump cavities that takes into account the coupling efficiency and uniformity of the absorption distribution. It is found that the nonimaging pump cavity maintains a high coupling efficiency with extended two-dimensional diode arrays and obtains a fairly uniform absorption distribution. The nonimaging cavity is compared with two other designs: a close-coupled side-pumped cavity and an imaging design in the form of a elliptical cavity. The nonimaging cavity has a better figure of merit per diode than these two designs. It also permits the use of an extended, sparse, two-dimensional diode array, which reduces thermal loading of the source and eliminates all cavity optics other than the main reflector.

2.4 μm diode-pumped Dy2+:CaF2 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Švejkar, Richard; Papashvili, Alexander G.; Šulc, Jan; Němec, Michal; Jelínková, Helena; Doroshenko, Maxim E.; Batygov, Sergei H.; Osiko, Vyacheslav V.

2018-01-01

In this work, a cryogenic cooled, longitudinal diode-pumped Dy2+ :CaF2 laser was investigated for the first time. The temperature dependence of the spectroscopy and the laser properties of Dy2+ :CaF2 are presented. The tested Dy2+ :CaF2 crystal was a longitudinal pump in a near-IR region (926 nm) by laser diode radiation. The maximal mean output power and slope efficiency at 78 K during the pulse regime of the laser were 57.5 mW and 7%, respectively. Furthermore, the CW regime was successfully tested and a maximum output power of 0.37 W was obtained for the absorbed pumping power 5.7 W. The emission laser wavelength was 2367 nm.

Robust modeling and performance analysis of high-power diode side-pumped solid-state laser systems.

PubMed

Kashef, Tamer; Ghoniemy, Samy; Mokhtar, Ayman

2015-12-20

In this paper, we present an enhanced high-power extrinsic diode side-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) model to accurately predict the dynamic operations and pump distribution under different practical conditions. We introduce a new implementation technique for the proposed model that provides a compelling incentive for the performance assessment and enhancement of high-power diode side-pumped Nd:YAG lasers using cooperative agents and by relying on the MATLAB, GLAD, and Zemax ray tracing software packages. A large-signal laser model that includes thermal effects and a modified laser gain formulation and incorporates the geometrical pump distribution for three radially arranged arrays of laser diodes is presented. The design of a customized prototype diode side-pumped high-power laser head fabricated for the purpose of testing is discussed. A detailed comparative experimental and simulation study of the dynamic operation and the beam characteristics that are used to verify the accuracy of the proposed model for analyzing the performance of high-power DPSSLs under different conditions are discussed. The simulated and measured results of power, pump distribution, beam shape, and slope efficiency are shown under different conditions and for a specific case, where the targeted output power is 140 W, while the input pumping power is 400 W. The 95% output coupler reflectivity showed good agreement with the slope efficiency, which is approximately 35%; this assures the robustness of the proposed model to accurately predict the design parameters of practical, high-power DPSSLs.

Diode-pumped laser altimeter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welford, D.; Isyanova, Y.

1993-01-01

TEM(sub 00)-mode output energies up to 22.5 mJ with 23 percent slope efficiencies were generated at 1.064 microns in a diode-laser pumped Nd:YAG laser using a transverse-pumping geometry. 1.32-micron performance was equally impressive at 10.2 mJ output energy with 15 percent slope efficiency. The same pumping geometry was successfully carried forward to several complex Q-switched laser resonator designs with no noticeable degradation of beam quality. Output beam profiles were consistently shown to have greater than 90 percent correlation with the ideal TEM(sub 00)-order Gaussian profile. A comparison study on pulse-reflection-mode (PRM), pulse-transmission-mode (PTM), and passive Q-switching techniques was undertaken. The PRM Q-switched laser generated 8.3 mJ pulses with durations as short as 10 ns. The PTM Q-switch laser generated 5 mJ pulses with durations as short as 5 ns. The passively Q-switched laser generated 5 mJ pulses with durations as short as 2.4 ns. Frequency doubling of both 1.064 microns and 1.32 microns with conversion efficiencies of 56 percent in lithium triborate and 10 percent in rubidium titanyl arsenate, respectively, was shown. Sum-frequency generation of the 1.064 microns and 1.32 microns radiations was demonstrated in KTP to generate 1.1 mJ of 0.589 micron output with 11.5 percent conversion efficiency.

Direct diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser

PubMed Central

Durfee, Charles G.; Storz, Tristan; Garlick, Jonathan; Hill, Steven; Squier, Jeff A.; Kirchner, Matthew; Taft, Greg; Shea, Kevin; Kapteyn, Henry; Murnane, Margaret; Backus, Sterling

2012-01-01

We describe a Ti:sapphire laser pumped directly with a pair of 1.2W 445nm laser diodes. With over 30mW average power at 800 nm and a measured pulsewidth of 15fs, Kerr-lens-modelocked pulses are available with dramatically decreased pump cost. We propose a simple model to explain the observed highly stable Kerr-lens modelocking in spite of the fact that both the mode-locked and continuous-wave modes are smaller than the pump mode in the crystal. PMID:22714433

Gigahertz frequency comb from a diode-pumped solid-state laser.

PubMed

Klenner, Alexander; Schilt, Stéphane; Südmeyer, Thomas; Keller, Ursula

2014-12-15

We present the first stabilization of the frequency comb offset from a diode-pumped gigahertz solid-state laser oscillator. No additional external amplification and/or compression of the output pulses is required. The laser is reliably modelocked using a SESAM and is based on a diode-pumped Yb:CALGO gain crystal. It generates 1.7-W average output power and pulse durations as short as 64 fs at a pulse repetition rate of 1 GHz. We generate an octave-spanning supercontinuum in a highly nonlinear fiber and use the standard f-to-2f carrier-envelope offset (CEO) frequency f_CEO detection method. As a pump source, we use a reliable and cost-efficient commercial diode laser. Its multi-spatial-mode beam profile leads to a relatively broad frequency comb offset beat signal, which nevertheless can be phase-locked by feedback to its current. Using improved electronics, we reached a feedback-loop-bandwidth of up to 300 kHz. A combination of digital and analog electronics is used to achieve a tight phase-lock of f_CEO to an external microwave reference with a low in-loop residual integrated phase-noise of 744 mrad in an integration bandwidth of [1 Hz, 5 MHz]. An analysis of the laser noise and response functions is presented which gives detailed insights into the CEO stabilization of this frequency comb.

Hole injection and electron overflow improvement in InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes by a tapered AlGaN electron blocking layer.

PubMed

Lin, Bing-Chen; Chen, Kuo-Ju; Wang, Chao-Hsun; Chiu, Ching-Hsueh; Lan, Yu-Pin; Lin, Chien-Chung; Lee, Po-Tsung; Shih, Min-Hsiung; Kuo, Yen-Kuang; Kuo, Hao-Chung

2014-01-13

A tapered AlGaN electron blocking layer with step-graded aluminum composition is analyzed in nitride-based blue light-emitting diode (LED) numerically and experimentally. The energy band diagrams, electrostatic fields, carrier concentration, electron current density profiles, and hole transmitting probability are investigated. The simulation results demonstrated that such tapered structure can effectively enhance the hole injection efficiency as well as the electron confinement. Consequently, the LED with a tapered EBL grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition exhibits reduced efficiency droop behavior of 29% as compared with 44% for original LED, which reflects the improvement in hole injection and electron overflow in our design.

Diode-pumped solid-state laser driver experiments for inertial fusion energy applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marshall, C.D.; Payne, S.A.; Emanuel, M.E.

Although solid-state lasers have been the primary means by which the physics of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) have been investigated, it was previously thought that solid-state laser technology could not offer adequate efficiencies for an inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant. Orth and co-workers have recently designed a conceptual IFE power plant, however, with a high efficiency diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) driver that utilized several recent innovations in laser technology. It was concluded that DPSSLs could offer adequate performance for IFE with reasonable assumptions. This system was based on a novel diode pumped Yb-doped Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F (Yb:S-FAP) amplifier.more » Because this is a relatively new gain medium, a project was established to experimentally validate the diode-pumping and extraction dynamics of this system at the smallest reasonable scale. This paper reports on the initial experimental results of this study. We found the pumping dynamics and extraction cross-sections of Yb:S-FAP crystals to be similar to those previously inferred by purely spectroscopic techniques. The saturation fluence for pumping was measured to be 2.2 J/cm{sup 2} using three different methods based on either the spatial, temporal, or energy transmission properties of a Yb:S-FAP rod. The small signal gain implies an emission cross section of 6.0{times}10{sup {minus}20} cm{sup 2}. Up to 1.7 J/cm{sup 3} of stored energy density was achieved in a 6{times}6{times}44 mm{sup 3} Yb:S-FAP amplifier rod. In a free running configuration diode-pumped slope efficiencies up to 43% were observed with output energies up to {approximately}0.5 J per 1 ms pulse from a 3{times}3{times}30 mm{sup 3} rod. When the rod was mounted in a copper block for cooling, 13 W of average power was produced with power supply limited operation at 70 Hz with 500 {mu}s pulses.« less

Face pumping of thin, solid-state slab lasers with laser diodes.

PubMed

Faulstich, A; Baker, H J; Hall, D R

1996-04-15

A new technique for face pumping of slab lasers uses transfer of light from 10 quasi-cw laser diode bars through a slotted mirror into a rectangular, highly ref lective pump chamber, giving efficient multipass pumping of a thin Nd:glass slab laser. A slope efficiency of 28% and a maximum pulse energy of 65 mJ have been obtained, and gain and loss measurements with thickness t = 0.45-1.04 mm have confirmed the 1/t scaling of gain in thin slabs and the high efficiency of pump light transfer.

Mode-field adapter for tapered-fiber-bundle signal and pump combiners.

PubMed

Koška, Pavel; Baravets, Yauhen; Peterka, Pavel; Bohata, Jan; Písařík, Michael

2015-02-01

We report on a novel mode-field adapter that is proposed to be incorporated inside tapered fused-fiber-bundle pump and signal combiners for high-power double-clad fiber lasers. Such an adapter allows optimization of signal-mode-field matching on the input and output fibers. Correspondingly, losses of the combiner signal branch are significantly reduced. The mode-field adapter optimization procedure is demonstrated on a combiner based on commercially available fibers. Signal wavelengths of 1.55 and 2 μm are considered. The losses can be further improved by using specially designed intermediate fiber and by dopant diffusion during splicing as confirmed by preliminary experimental results.

Effect of laser speckle on light from laser diode-pumped phosphor-converted light sources.

PubMed

Aquino, Felipe; Jadwisienczak, Wojciech M; Rahman, Faiz

2017-01-10

Laser diode (LD) pumped white light sources are being developed as an alternative to light-emitting diode-pumped sources for high efficiency and/or high brightness applications. While several performance metrics of laser-pumped phosphor-converted light sources have been investigated, the effect of laser speckle has not been sufficiently explored. This paper describes our experimental studies on how laser speckle affects the behavior of light from laser-excited phosphor lamps. A single LD pumping a phosphor plate was the geometry explored in this work. Overall, our findings are that the down-converted light did not exhibit any speckle, whereas speckle was present in the residual pump light but much reduced from that in direct laser light. Furthermore, a thicker coating of small-grained phosphors served to effectively reduce speckle through static pump light diffusion in the phosphor coating. Our investigations showed that speckle is not of concern in illumination from LD-pumped phosphor-converted light sources.

Laser Demonstration of Diode-Pumped Nd3+-Doped Fluorapatite Anisotropic Ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akiyama, Jun; Sato, Yoichi; Taira, Takunori

2011-02-01

We report the first demonstration of a diode-pumped anisotropic ceramic laser that uses microdomain-controlled neodymium-doped hexagonal fluorapatite [Nd3+:Ca10(PO4)6F2, Nd:FAP] polycrystalline ceramics as the gain medium, which were fabricated by the rare-earth-assisted magnetic grain-orientation control method, as a step toward achieving giant micro photonics. The laser delivers 1063.10 and 1063.22 nm output beams when pumped with a central wavelength of 807.5 nm and a 2 nm bandwidth diode laser operating in quasi-continuous-wave (QCW) mode. We obtained a maximum QCW peak power of 255 mW with an uncoated 2 at. % Nd:FAP material.

Volume Bragg grating improves characteristic of resonantly diode-pumped Er:YAG, 1.65-μm DPSSL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kudryashov, Igor; Garbuzov, Dmitri; Dubinskii, Mark

2007-02-01

Significant performance improvement of the Er(0.5%):YAG diode pumped solid state laser (DPSSL) has been achieved by pump diode spectral narrowing via implementation of external volumetric Bragg grating (VBG). Without spectral narrowing, with a pump path length of 15 mm, only 37% of 1532 nm pump was absorbed. After the VBG spectral narrowing, the absorption of the pumping radiation increased to 62%. As a result, the incident power threshold was reduced by a factor of 2.5; the efficiency increased by a factor of 1.7, resulting in a slope efficiency of ~23%. A maximum of 51 W of CW power was obtained versus 31 W without the pump spectrum narrowing.

Diode-pumped continuous-wave eye-safe Nd:YAG laser at 1415 nm.

PubMed

Lee, Hee Chul; Byeon, Sung Ug; Lukashev, Alexei

2012-04-01

We describe the output performance of the 1415 nm emission in Nd:YAG in a plane-concave cavity under traditional pumping into the 4F5/2 level (808 nm) and direct in-band pumping into the 4F3/2 level (885 nm). An end-pumped Nd:YAG laser yielded maximum cw output power of 6.3 W and 4.2 W at 885 nm and 808 nm laser diode (LD) pumping, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest output power of a LD-pumped 1415 nm laser.

High-power pulsed and CW diode-pumped mode-locked Nd:YAG lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, Larry R.; Hays, A. D.; Kaz, Alex; Kasinski, Jeff; Burnham, R. L.

1991-01-01

The operation of both pulsed and CW diode-pumped mode-locked Nd:YAG lasers are presented. The pulsed laser produced 1.0 mJ with pulsewidths of 90 psec at 20 Hz. The CW pumped laser produced 6 W output at 1.064 microns and 3 W output at 532 nm.

High-efficiency, 154  W CW, diode-pumped Raman fiber laser with brightness enhancement.

PubMed

Glick, Yaakov; Fromzel, Viktor; Zhang, Jun; Ter-Gabrielyan, Nikolay; Dubinskii, Mark

2017-01-20

We demonstrate a high-power, high-efficiency Raman fiber laser pumped directly by laser diode modules at 978 nm. 154 W of CW power were obtained at a wavelength of 1023 nm with an optical to optical efficiency of 65%. A commercial graded-index (GRIN) core fiber acts as the Raman fiber in a power oscillator configuration, which includes spectral selection to prevent generation of the second Stokes. In addition, brightness enhancement of the pump beam by a factor of 8.4 is attained due to the Raman gain distribution profile in the GRIN fiber. To the best of our knowledge this is the highest power and highest efficiency Raman fiber laser demonstrated in any configuration allowing brightness enhancement (i.e., in either cladding-pumped configuration or with GRIN fibers, excluding step-index core pumped), regardless of pumping scheme (i.e., either diode pumped or fiber laser pumped).

All solid-state diode pumped Nd:YAG MOPA with stimulated Brillouin phase conjugate mirror

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Offerhaus, H. L.; Godfried, H. P.; Witteman, W. J.

1996-02-01

At the Nederlands Centrum voor Laser Research (NCLR) a 1 kHz diode-pumped Nd:YAG Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA) chain with a Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) Phase Conjugate mirror is designed and operated. A small Brewster angle Nd:YAG slab (2 by 2 by 20 mm) is side pumped with 200 μs diode pulses in a stable oscillator. The oscillator is Q-switched and injection seeded with a commercial diode pumped single frequency CW Nd:YAG laser. The output consists of single-transverse, single-longitudinal mode 25 ns FWHM-pulses at 1064 nm. The oscillator slab is imaged on a square aperture that transmits between 3 and 2 mJ (at 100 and 400 Hz, resp.) The aperture is subsequently imaged four times in the amplifier. The amplifier is a 3 by 6 by 60 mm Brewster angle zig-zag slab, pumped by an 80-bar diode stack with pulses up to 250 μs. After the second pass the light is focused in two consecutive cells containing Freon-113 for wave-front reversal in an oscillator/amplifier-setup with a reflectivity of 60%. The light then passes through the amplifier twice more to produce 20 W (at 400 Hz) of output with near diffraction limited beam quality. To increase the output to 50 W at 1 kHz thermal lensing in the oscillator will be reduced.

UV diode-pumped solid state laser for medical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apollonov, Victor V.; Konstantinov, K. V.; Sirotkin, A. A.

1999-07-01

A compact, solid-state, high-efficiency, and safe UV laser medical system with optical fiber output was created for treatment of destructive forms of pulmonary tuberculosis. A frequency-quadruped quasi-CW Nd:YVO4 laser system pumped by laser-diode array is investigated with various resonator configurations. A longitudinal end-pumping scheme was used in a compact acousto-optical Q-switched laser for producing stable pulses of UV radiation at the repetition frequency 10-20 kHz and the duration 7-10 ns with the fiber-guide output power exceeding 10 mW.

Generation of high powers from diode pumped chromium-3+ doped colquiriites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichenholz, Jason Matthew

1998-12-01

There is considerable interest in the area of laser diode pumped solid-state lasers. Diode pumped solid-state lasers (DPSSL) operating at high average power levels are attractive light sources for various applications such as materials processing, laser radar, and fundamental physics experiments. These laser systems have become more commonplace because of their efficiency, reliability, compactness, low relative cost, and long operational lifetimes. Induced thermal effects in the solid-state laser medium hinder the scaling of DPSSL's to higher average power levels. Therefore a deep insight into the thermo-mechanical properties of the solid state laser is crucial in order to ensure a laser design which is optimized for high average power operation. A comprehensive study of the factors that contribute to thermal loading of the colquiriites was performed. A three-dimensional thermal model has been created to determine the temperature rise inside the laser crystal. This new model calculates the temperature distribution by considering quantum defect, upconversion, and upper-state lifetime quenching as heating sources. The thermally induced lensing in end pumped Cr3+ doped LiSrAlF6, LiSrGaF6, LiSrCaAlF6, and LiCaAlF6 were experimentally measured. Several diode pumped colquiriite laser systems were assembled to quantitatively observe and identify thermally induced effects. Significant differences in each of the colquiriite materials were observed. These differences are explained by the differences in the thermo-mechanical and thermo-optical properties of the material and are explained by the theoretical thermal model.

Tm:GGAG crystal for 2μm tunable diode-pumped laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šulc, Jan; Boháček, Pavel; Němec, Michal; Fibrich, Martin; Jelínková, Helena; Trunda, Bohumil; Havlák, Lubomír.; Jurek, Karel; Nikl, Martin

2016-04-01

The spectroscopy properties and wavelength tunability of diode pumped laser based on Tm-doped mixed gadolinium-gallium-aluminium garnet Gd3(GaxAl1-x)5O12 (Tm:GGAG) single crystal were investigated for the first time. The crystal was grown by Czochralski method in a slightly oxidative atmosphere using an iridium crucible. The tested Tm:GGAG sample was cut from the grown crystal boule perpendicularly to growth direction (c-axis). The composition of sample was determined using electron microprobe X-ray elemental analysis. For spectroscopy and laser experiments 3.5mm thick plane-parallel face-polished plate (without AR coatings) with composition Gd2.76Tm0.0736Ga2.67Al2.50O12 (2.67 at.% Tm/Gd) was used. A fiber (core diameter 400 μm, NA= 0.22) coupled laser diode (emission wavelength 786 nm) was used for longitudinal Tm:GGAG pumping. The laser diode was operating in the pulsed regime (10 ms pulse length, 10 Hz repetition rate, maximum power amplitude 18 W). The 145mm long semi-hemispherical laser resonator consisted of a flat pumping mirror (HR @ 1.8- 2.10 μm, HT @ 0.78 μm) and curved (r = 150mm) output coupler with a reflectivity of » 97% @ 1.8- 2.10 µm. The maximum laser output power amplitude 1.14W was obtained at wavelength 2003nm for absorbed pump power amplitude 4.12W. The laser slope efficiency was 37% in respect to absorbed pumping power. Wavelength tuning was accomplished by using 2mm thick MgF2 birefringent filter placed inside the laser resonator at the Brewster angle. The laser was continuously tunable over 180nm in a spectral region from 1856nm to 2036 nm.

High-energy directly diode-pumped Q-switched 1617 nm Er:YAG laser at room temperature.

PubMed

Wang, Mingjian; Zhu, Liang; Chen, Weibiao; Fan, Dianyuan

2012-09-01

We describe high-energy Erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) lasers operating at 1617 nm, resonantly pumped using 1532 nm fiber-coupled laser diodes. A maximum continuous wave output power of 4.3 W at 1617 nm was achieved with an output coupler of 20% transmission under incident pump power of 29.7 W, resulting in an optical conversion of 14% with respect to the incident pump power. In Q-switched operation, the pulse energy of 11.8 mJ at 100 Hz pulse repetition frequency and 81 ns pulse duration was obtained. This energy is the highest pulse energy reported for a directly diode-pumped Q-switched Er:YAG laser operating at 1617 nm.

Comparison of tunable lasers based on diode pumped Tm-doped crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šulc, Jan; Jelínková, Helena; Koranda, Petr; Černý, Pavel; Jabczyński, Jan K.; Żendzian, Waldemar; Kwiatkowski, Jacek; Urata, Yoshiharu; Higuchi, Mikio

2008-12-01

We report on continuously tunable operation of a diode pumped lasers based on Tm-doped materials, emitting in the 1.8 - 2.μ1 m spectral band. In our study we compare results obtained with three various single crystals doped by Tm3+ ions: Yttrium Aluminum perovskite YAP (YAlO3), Gadolinium orthovanadate GdVO4, and Yttrium Lithium Fluoride YLF (YLiF4). Following samples were available: the 3mm long a-cut crystal rod of Tm:YAP with 4% at. Tm/Y (diameter 3 mm); the 8mm long b-cut crystal rod of Tm:YLF with 3.5% at. Tm/Y (diameter 3 mm); the 2.7mm long a-cut crystal block of Tm:GdVO4 with 2% at. Tm/Gd (crystal face 5×3 mm). For active medium pumping, the laser diode radiation was used. Because the tested samples differs significantly in absorption spectra, two fibre-coupled (core diameter 400 µm) temperature-tuned laser diodes were used: first operating at wavelength 793nm was used for Tm:YAP and Tm:YLF; the second operating at wavelength 802nm was used for Tm:GdVO4. In both cases, the continuous power up to 20W was available for pumping. The diode radiation was focused into the active crystal by two achromatic doublet lenses with the focal length f = 75 mm. The measured radius of pumping beam focus inside the crystal was 260 µm. The longitudinally diode pumped crystals were tested in linear, 80mm long, hemispherical laser cavity. The curved (radius 150mm) output coupler reflectivity was ~ 97 % in range from 1.8 up to 2.1 μm. The pumping flat mirror had maximal reflectivity in this range and it had high transmission around 0.8 μm. A 1.5mm thick birefringent plate made from quartz (Lyot filter) inserted under a Brewster's angle was used as a tuning element. This plate was placed inside the resonator between the crystal and the output coupler. Using Tm:YAP crystal, the maximal output power of 2.8W in this set-up was obtained. The laser could be tuned from 1865nm up to 2036nm with a maximum at 1985 nm. Laser based on Tm:YLF crystal was tunable from 1835nm up to

Wavelength switchable high-power diode-side-pumped rod Tm:YAG Laser around 2µm.

PubMed

Wang, Caili; Du, Shifeng; Niu, Yanxiong; Wang, Zhichao; Zhang, Chao; Bian, Qi; Guo, Chuan; Xu, Jialin; Bo, Yong; Peng, Qinjun; Cui, Dafu; Zhang, Jingyuan; Lei, Wenqiang; Xu, Zuyan

2013-03-25

We report a high-power diode-side-pumped rod Tm:YAG laser operated at either 2.07 or 2.02 µm depending on the transmission of pumped output coupler. The laser yields 115W of continuous-wave output power at 2.07 µm with 5% output coupling, which is the highest output power for all solid-state 2.07 μm cw rod Tm:YAG laser reported so far. With an output coupler of 10% transmission, the center wavelength of the laser is switched to 2.02 μm with an output power of 77.1 W. This is the first observation of high-power wavelength switchable diode-side-pumped rod Tm:YAG laser around 2 µm.

The HALNA project: Diode-pumped solid-state laser for inertial fusion energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawashima, T.; Ikegawa, T.; Kawanaka, J.; Miyanaga, N.; Nakatsuka, M.; Izawa, Y.; Matsumoto, O.; Yasuhara, R.; Kurita, T.; Sekine, T.; Miyamoto, M.; Kan, H.; Furukawa, H.; Motokoshi, S.; Kanabe, T.

2006-06-01

High-enery, rep.-rated, diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is one of leading candidates for inertial fusion energy driver (IFE) and related laser-driven high-field applications. The project for the development of IFE laser driver in Japan, HALNA (High Average-power Laser for Nuclear Fusion Application) at ILE, Osaka University, aims to demonstrate 100-J pulse energy at 10 Hz rep. rate with 5 times diffraction limited beam quality. In this article, the advanced solid-state laser technologies for one half scale of HALNA (50 J, 10 Hz) are presented including thermally managed slab amplifier of Nd:phosphate glass and zig-zag optical geometry, and uniform, large-area diode-pumping.

Diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked femtosecond Yb:YAG ceramic laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zi-Ye, Gao; Jiang-Feng, Zhu; Ke, Wang; Jun-Li, Wang; Zhao-Hua, Wang; Zhi-Yi, Wei

2016-02-01

We experimentally demonstrated a diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked femtosecond laser based on an Yb:YAG ceramic. Stable laser pulses with 97-fs duration, 2.8-nJ pulse energy, and 320-mW average power were obtained. The femtosecond oscillator operated at a central wavelength of 1049 nm and a repetition rate of 115 MHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a Kerr-lens mode-locked operation in a diode-pumped Yb:YAG ceramic laser with sub-100 fs pulse duration. Project supported by the National Major Scientific Instrument Development Project of China (Grant No. 2012YQ120047), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61205130), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (Grant No. JB140502).

High efficiency, linearly polarized, directly diode-pumped Er:YAG laser at 1617  nm.

PubMed

Yu, Zhenzhen; Wang, Mingjian; Hou, Xia; Chen, Weibiao

2014-12-01

An efficient, directly diode-pumped Er:YAG laser at 1617 nm was demonstrated. A folding mirror with high reflectivity for the s-polarized light at the laser wavelength was used to achieve a linearly polarized laser. A maximum continuous-wave output power of 7.73 W was yielded under incident pump power of 50.57 W, and the optical conversion efficiency with respect to incident pump power was ∼15.28%, which was the highest optical conversion efficiency with directly diode-pumped Er:YAG lasers up to now; in Q-switched operation, the maximum pulse energy of 7.82 mJ was generated with pulse duration of about 80 ns at a pulse repetition frequency of 500 Hz.

Open-path atmospheric transmission for a diode-pumped cesium laser.

PubMed

Rice, Christopher A; Lott, Gordon E; Perram, Glen P

2012-12-01

A tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy device was developed to study atmospheric propagation for emerging high-energy laser weapons. The cesium diode-pumped alkali laser operates near 895 nm in the vicinity of several water-vapor absorption lines. Temperature, pressure, and water vapor concentration were determined for 150 m and 1 km open paths with statistical errors of ∼0.2%. Comparison with meteorological instruments yields agreement for the 1 km path to within 0.6% for temperature, 3.7% for pressure, and 2.4% for concentration.

Directly diode-pumped high-energy Ho:YAG oscillator.

PubMed

Lamrini, Samir; Koopmann, Philipp; Schäfer, Michael; Scholle, Karsten; Fuhrberg, Peter

2012-02-15

We report on the high-energy laser operation of an Ho:YAG oscillator resonantly pumped by a GaSb-based laser diode stack at 1.9 μm. The output energy was extracted from a compact plano-concave acousto-optically Q-switched resonator optimized for low repetition rates. Operating at 100 Hz, pulse energies exceeding 30 mJ at a wavelength of 2.09 μm were obtained. The corresponding pulse duration at the highest pump power was 100 ns, leading to a maximum peak power above 300 kW. Different pulse repetition rates and output coupling transmissions of the Ho:YAG resonator were studied. In addition, intracavity laser-induced damage threshold measurements are discussed.

Temperature effects on tunable cw Alexandrite lasers under diode end-pumping.

PubMed

Kerridge-Johns, William R; Damzen, Michael J

2018-03-19

Diode pumped Alexandrite is a promising route to high power, efficient and inexpensive lasers with a broad (701 nm to 858 nm) gain bandwidth; however, there are challenges with its complex laser dynamics. We present an analytical model applied to experimental red diode end-pumped Alexandrite lasers, which enabled a record 54 % slope efficiency with an output power of 1.2 W. A record lowest lasing wavelength (714 nm) and record tuning range (104 nm) was obtained by optimising the crystal temperature between 8 °C and 105 °C in the vibronic mode. The properties of Alexandrite and the analytical model were examined to understand and give general rules in optimising Alexandrite lasers, along with their fundamental efficiency limits. It was found that the lowest threshold laser wavelength was not necessarily the most efficient, and that higher and lower temperatures were optimal for longer and shorter laser wavelengths, respectively. The pump excited to ground state absorption ratio was measured to decrease from 0.8 to 0.7 by changing the crystal temperature from 10 °C to 90 °C.

A portable lidar using a diode-pumped YAG laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Takeuchi, N.; Okumura, H.; Sugita, T.; Matsumoto, H.; Yamaguchi, S.

1992-01-01

A Mie lidar system is technically established and is used for monitoring air pollution, stratospheric and boundary layer aerosol distribution, plume dispersion, visibility, and the study of atmospheric structure and cloud physics. However, a lidar system is not widely used because of its cumbersome handling and unwieldy portability. Although the author developed a laser diode lidar system based on RM-CW technique, it has a limit of measurement distance. Here we report the development of an all solid Mie lidar system using a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser and a Si-APD detector. This was constructed as a prototype of a handy lidar system.

Diode-pumped Nd:GAGG-LBO laser at 531 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, J.; Chu, H.; Wang, L. R.

2012-03-01

We report a green laser at 531 nm generation by intracavity frequency doubling of a continuous wave (cw) laser operation of a 1062 nm Nd:GAGG laser under in-band diode pumping at 808 nm. A LiB3O5 (LBO) crystal, cut for critical type I phase matching at room temperature is used for second harmonic generation of the laser. At an incident pump power of 18.5 W, as high as 933 mW of cw output power at 531 nm is achieved. The fluctuation of the green output power was better than 3.5% in the given 4 h.

Efficient Q-switched operation in 1.64 μm Er:YAG tapered rod laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polyakov, Vadim M.; Vitkin, Vladimir V.; Krylov, Alexandr A.; Uskov, Alexander V.; Mak, Andrey A.

2017-02-01

We model output characteristics of the 1645 nm 8 mJ 10 ns 100 Hz Q-switched Er:YAG DPSSL. The laser is end pumped at a wavelength of 1532 nm. Fiber-coupled diode laser module was 10 nm FWHM, 12 W CW, 200 μm, NA 0.22. Various tapering of the active rod has been considered for 1 mm diameter, 20 mm long and 0.5% Er doping. We discuss the heat deposition process, the energy storage efficiency and the average power limitations for Q-switched regime of generation and amplification, and find the system scalable for the high power operation.

Acousto-optic modulation in diode pumped solid state lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jabczynski, Jan K.; Zendzian, Waldemar; Kwiatkowski, Jacek

2007-02-01

The main properties of acousto-optic modulators (AOM) applied in laser technology are presented and discussed in the paper. The critical review of application of AOMs in several types of diode pumped solid state lasers (DPSSL) is given. The short description of few DPSSLs developed in our group is presented in the following chapters of the paper. The parameters of a simple AO-Q-switched Nd:YVO 4 laser (peak power up to 60 kW, pulse duration of 5-15 ns, repetition rate in the range 10-100 kHz, with average power above 5 W) are satisfactory for different application as follows: higher harmonic generation, pumping of 'eye-safe' OPOs etc. The achieved brightness of 10 17 W/m2/srd is comparable to the strongest technological Q-switched lasers of kW class of average power. The main aim of paper is to present novel type of lasers with acousto-optic modulation namely: AO-q-switched and mode locked (AO-QML) lasers. We have designed the 3.69-m long Z-type resonator of the frequency matched to the RF frequency of AOM. As a gain medium the Nd:YVO 4 crystal end pumped by 20 W laser diode was applied. The energy of envelope of QML pulse train was up to 130 μJ with sub-nanosecond mode locked pulse of maximum 30-μJ energy.

Coherence properties of spontaneous parametric down-conversion pumped by a multi-mode cw diode laser.

PubMed

Kwon, Osung; Ra, Young-Sik; Kim, Yoon-Ho

2009-07-20

Coherence properties of the photon pair generated via spontaneous parametric down-conversion pumped by a multi-mode cw diode laser are studied with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Each photon of the pair enters a different input port of the interferometer and the biphoton coherence properties are studied with a two-photon detector placed at one output port. When the photon pair simultaneously enters the interferometer, periodic recurrence of the biphoton de Broglie wave packet is observed, closely resembling the coherence properties of the pump diode laser. With non-zero delays between the photons at the input ports, biphoton interference exhibits the same periodic recurrence but the wave packet shapes are shown to be dependent on both the input delay as well as the interferometer delay. These properties could be useful for building engineered entangled photon sources based on diode laser-pumped spontaneous parametric down-conversion.

Observation of enhanced thermal lensing due to near-Gaussian pump energy deposition in a laser-diode side-pumped Nd:YAG laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welford, David; Rines, David M.; Dinerman, Bradley J.; Martinsen, Robert

1992-01-01

The authors report operation of a laser-diode side-pumped Nd:YAG laser with a novel pumping geometry that ensures efficient conversion of pump energy into the TEM00 mode. Significant enhancement of thermally induced lensing due to the near-Gaussian energy deposition profile of the pump radiation was observed. An induced lens of approximately 3.2-m focal length was measured at average incident pump powers of only 3.2 W (corresponding to a 0.6 W heat load).

Optimized Biasing of Pump Laser Diodes in a Highly Reliable Metrology Source for Long-Duration Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poberezhskiy, Ilya Y; Chang, Daniel H.; Erlig, Herman

2011-01-01

Optical metrology system reliability during a prolonged space mission is often limited by the reliability of pump laser diodes. We developed a metrology laser pump module architecture that meets NASA SIM Lite instrument optical power and reliability requirements by combining the outputs of multiple single-mode pump diodes in a low-loss, high port count fiber coupler. We describe Monte-Carlo simulations used to calculate the reliability of the laser pump module and introduce a combined laser farm aging parameter that serves as a load-sharing optimization metric. Employing these tools, we select pump module architecture, operating conditions, biasing approach and perform parameter sensitivity studies to investigate the robustness of the obtained solution.

Advances in high-power 9XXnm laser diodes for pumping fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skidmore, Jay; Peters, Matthew; Rossin, Victor; Guo, James; Xiao, Yan; Cheng, Jane; Shieh, Allen; Srinivasan, Raman; Singh, Jaspreet; Wei, Cailin; Duesterberg, Richard; Morehead, James J.; Zucker, Erik

2016-03-01

A multi-mode 9XXnm-wavelength laser diode was developed to optimize the divergence angle and reliable ex-facet power. Lasers diodes were assembled into a multi-emitter pump package that is fiber coupled via spatial and polarization multiplexing. The pump package has a 135μm diameter output fiber that leverages the same optical train and mechanical design qualified previously. Up to ~ 270W CW power at 22A is achieved at a case temperature ~ 30ºC. Power conversion efficiency is 60% (peak) that drops to 53% at 22A with little thermal roll over. Greater than 90% of the light is collected at < 0.12NA at 16A drive current that produces 3.0W/(mm-mr)2 radiance from the output fiber.

Diode-pumped femtosecond mode-locked Nd, Y-codoped CaF2 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Jiangfeng; Zhang, Lijuan; Gao, Ziye; Wang, Junli; Wang, Zhaohua; Su, Liangbi; Zheng, Lihe; Wang, Jingya; Xu, Jun; Wei, Zhiyi

2015-03-01

A passively mode-locked femtosecond laser based on an Nd, Y-codoped CaF2 disordered crystal was demonstrated. The Y3+-codoping in Nd : CaF2 markedly suppressed the quenching effect and improved the fluorescence quantum efficiency and emission spectra. With a fiber-coupled laser diode as the pump source, the continuous wave tuning range covering from 1042 to 1076 nm was realized, while the mode-locked operation generated 264 fs pulses with an average output power of 180 mW at a repetition rate of 85 MHz. The experimental results show that the Nd, Y-codoped CaF2 disordered crystal has potential in a new generation diode-pumped high repetition rate chirped pulse amplifier.

Compact, diode-pumped, solid-state lasers for next generation defence and security sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silver, M.; Lee, S. T.; Borthwick, A.; McRae, I.; Jackson, D.; Alexander, W.

2015-06-01

Low-cost semiconductor laser diode pump sources have made a dramatic impact in sectors such as advanced manufacturing. They are now disrupting other sectors, such as defence and security (D&S), where Thales UK is a manufacturer of sensor systems for application on land, sea, air and man portable. In this talk, we will first give an overview of the market trends and challenges in the D&S sector. Then we will illustrate how low cost pump diodes are enabling new directions in D&S sensors, by describing two diode pumped, solid- state laser products currently under development at Thales UK. The first is a new generation of Laser Target Designators (LTD) that are used to identify targets for the secure guiding of munitions. Current systems are bulky, expensive and require large battery packs to operate. The advent of low cost diode technology, merged with our novel solid-state laser design, has created a designator that will be the smallest, lowest cost, STANAG compatible laser designator on the market. The LTD delivers greater that 50mJ per pulse up to 20Hz, and has compact dimensions of 125×70×55mm. Secondly, we describe an ultra-compact, eye-safe, solid-state laser rangefinder (LRF) with reduced size, weight and power consumption compared to existing products. The LRF measures 100×55×34mm, weighs 200g, and can range to greater than 10km with a single laser shot and at a reprate of 1Hz. This also leverages off advances in laser pump diodes, but also utilises low cost, high reliability, packaging technology commonly found in the telecoms sector. As is common in the D&S sector, the products are designed to work in extreme environments, such as wide temperature range (-40 to +71°C) and high levels of shock and vibration. These disruptive products enable next- generation laser sensors such as rangefinders, target designators and active illuminated imagers.

Laser diode and pumped Cr:Yag passively Q-switched yellow-green laser at 543 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Y.; Ling, Zhao; Li, B.; Qu, D. P.; Zhou, K.; Zhang, Y. B.; Zhao, Y.; Zheng, Q.

2013-03-01

Efficient and compact yellow green pulsed laser output at 543 nm is generated by frequency doubling of a passively Q-switched end diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser at 1086 nm under the condition of sup-pressing the higher gain transition near 1064 nm. With 15 W of diode pump power and the frequency doubling crystal LBO, as high as 1.58 W output power at 543 nm is achieved. The optical to optical conversion efficiency from the corresponding Q-switched fundamental output to the yellow green output is 49%. The peak power of the Q-switched yellow green pulse laser is up to 30 kW with 5 ns pulse duration. The output power stability over 8 hours is better than 2.56% at the maximum output power. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest watt-level laser at 543 nm generated by frequency doubling of a passively Q-switched end diode pumped Nd:YVO4 laser at 1086 nm.

Advancements in high-power high-brightness laser bars and single emitters for pumping and direct diode application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Haiyan; Jiang, Ching-Long J.; Xiong, Yihan; Zhang, Qiang; Inyang, Aloysius; Felder, Jason; Lewin, Alexander; Roff, Robert; Heinemann, Stefan; Schmidt, Berthold; Treusch, Georg

2015-03-01

We have continuously optimized high fill factor bar and packaging design to increase power and efficiency for thin disc laser system pump application. On the other hand, low fill factor bars packaged on the same direct copper bonded (DCB) cooling platform are used to build multi-kilowatt direct diode laser systems. We have also optimized the single emitter designs for fiber laser pump applications. In this paper, we will give an overview of our recent advances in high power high brightness laser bars and single emitters for pumping and direct diode application. We will present 300W bar development results for our next generation thin disk laser pump source. We will also show recent improvements on slow axis beam quality of low fill factor bar and its application on performance improvement of 4-5 kW TruDiode laser system with BPP of 30 mm*mrad from a 600 μm fiber. Performance and reliability results of single emitter for multiemitter fiber laser pump source will be presented as well.

Diode-pumped Yb:Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F laser performance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marshall, C.D.; Payne, S.A.; Smith, L.K.

The performance of the first diode-pumped Yb{sup 3+}-doped Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F (Yb:S-FAP) laser is discussed. We found the pumping dynamics and extraction cross-sections of Yb:S-FAP crystals to be similar to those previously inferred by purely spectroscopic techniques. The saturation fluence for pumping was measured to be 2.2 J/cm{sup 2} using three different methods based on either the spatial, temporal, or energy transmission properties of a Yb:S-FAP rod. The small signal gain implies an emission cross section of 6.0 x 10{sup -20} cm{sup 2} that falls within error bars of the previously reported value of 7.3 x 10{sup -20} cm{supmore » 2}, obtained from spectroscopic techniques. Up to 1.7 J/cm{sup 3} of stored energy density was achieved in a 6 x 6 x 44 mm Yb:S-FAP amplifier rod. An InGaAs diode array has been fabricated that has suitable specifications for pumping a 3 x 3 x 30 mm Yb:S-FAP rod. In a free running configuration diode-pumped slope efficiencies up to 43% were observed with output energies up to {approximately}0.5 J per 1 ms pulse. When the rod was mounted in a copper block for cooling, 13 W of average power was produced with power supply limited operation at 70 Hz and 500 {mu}s pulses.« less

Diode-Pumped Organo-Lead Halide Perovskite Lasing in a Metal-Clad Distributed Feedback Resonator.

PubMed

Jia, Yufei; Kerner, Ross A; Grede, Alex J; Brigeman, Alyssa N; Rand, Barry P; Giebink, Noel C

2016-07-13

Organic-inorganic lead halide perovskite semiconductors have recently reignited the prospect of a tunable, solution-processed diode laser, which has the potential to impact a wide range of optoelectronic applications. Here, we demonstrate a metal-clad, second-order distributed feedback methylammonium lead iodide perovskite laser that marks a significant step toward this goal. Optically pumping this device with an InGaN diode laser at low temperature, we achieve lasing above a threshold pump intensity of 5 kW/cm(2) for durations up to ∼25 ns at repetition rates exceeding 2 MHz. We show that the lasing duration is not limited by thermal runaway and propose instead that lasing ceases under continuous pumping due to a photoinduced structural change in the perovskite that reduces the gain on a submicrosecond time scale. Our results indicate that the architecture demonstrated here could provide the foundation for electrically pumped lasing with a threshold current density Jth < 5 kA/cm(2) under sub-20 ns pulsed drive.

Diode-pumped SrMoO4:Tm3+ crystal lasing near 1500 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doroshenko, M. E.; Sulc, J.; Jelinkova, H.; Nemec, M.; Ivleva, L. I.; Dunaeva, E. E.

2018-04-01

Diode-pumped lasing of Tm3+ ions in SrMoO4 crystal at wavelength near 1500 nm was obtained for the first time to our best knowledge. Two laser lines with orthogonal polarizations were observed at 1452 and 1492 nm. The laser pulse was self-terminated about 500 µs after the pump start.

Temperature influence on diode pumped Yb:GGAG laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veselský, Karel; Boháček, Pavel; Šulc, Jan; Jelínková, Helena; Trunda, Bohumil; Havlák, Lubomír.; Jurek, Karel; Nikl, Martin

2017-05-01

We present temperature influence (in range from 78 up to 400,K) on spectroscopic properties and laser performance of new Yb-doped mixed garnet Gd3GaxAl5-xO12 (Yb:GGAG). The sample was 2.68 mm thick plane-parallel face-polished Yb:GGAG single-crystal plate which was AR coated for pump (930 nm) and generated (1030 nm) laser radiation wavelength. The composition of sample was Gd3.098Yb0:0897Ga2:41Al2.41O12 (3 at % Yb/Gd). The Yb:GGAG crystal was mounted in temperature controlled copper holder of the liquid nitrogen cryostat. The 138 mm long semi-hemispherical laser resonator consisted of a flat pumping mirror (T > 90 % @ 930 nm, HR @ 1030 nm) placed inside cryostat, and a curved output coupler (r = 150 mm, R = 94.5 % @ 1030 nm) placed outside cryostat. For longitudinal pumping a fiber coupled laser diode was used. The diode was operating in the pulse regime (5 ms pulse length, 20 Hz repetition rate) at wavelength 928.5 nm. The absorption spectrum was measured for the temperatures from 78 to 400 K, and absorption lines narrowing was observed with temperature decrease. Zero-phonon line at 970 nm has width 1 nm (FWHM) at 100 K. The fluorescence intensity decay time was measured and it increased linearly with temperature from 864 μs @ 78 K to 881 μs @ 300 K. The temperature of active medium has strong influence mainly on laser threshold which was 5 times lower at 100 K than at 300 K, and on slope efficiency which was 3 times higher at 100 K than at 300 K.

Diode-pumped passively mode-locked and passively stabilized Nd3+:BaY2F8 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agnesi, Antonio; Guandalini, Annalisa; Tomaselli, Alessandra; Sani, Elisa; Toncelli, Alessandra; Tonelli, Mauro

2004-07-01

Continuous-wave mode locking (CW-ML) of a diode-pumped Nd3+:BaY2F8 laser is reported for the first time to our knowledge. Pulses as short as 4.8 ps were measured with a total output power of almost equal to 1 W at 1049 nm, corresponding to 3.4 W of absorbed power from the pump diode at 806 nm. A novel technique for passive stabilization of CW-ML has been demonstrated.

Red laser-diode pumped 806 nm Tm3+: ZBLAN fibre laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juárez-Hernández, M.; Mejía, E. B.

2017-06-01

A Tm3+-doped fluorozirconate (ZBLAN) fibre laser operating CW at 806 nm when diode-pumped at 687 nm is described for the first time. This device is based on the 3F4  →  3H6 transition, and is suitable for first telecom window and sensing applications. A slope efficiency of 50.3% and low threshold pump-power of 11.6 mW were obtained. Maximum output power of 15 mW for 40 mW coupled pump was achieved.

Efficient, frequency-stable laser-diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhou, B.; Kane, T. J.; Dixon, G. J.; Byer, R. L.

1985-01-01

One of the main goals of the study was to demonstrate a low-power efficient Nd:YAG laser oscillator for applications in remote coherent Doppler anemometry. An electrical-to-optical slope efficiency of 6.5 percent has been achieved by using commercially available CW laser diodes of up to 100 mW to pump monolithic Nd:YAG rod lasers. The observed Nd:YAG oscillation threshold is at 2.3 mW of laser-diode output power, i.e., a small fraction of the rated output power. The highest Nd:YAG CW output power reached is 4.4 mW at an overall electrical-to-optical efficiency of 1.5 percent. The frequency jitter is less than 10 kHz in 0.3 s.

Laser-induced nonlinear crystalline waveguide on glass fiber format and diode-pumped second harmonic generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Jindan; Feng, Xian

2018-03-01

We report a diode pumped self-frequency-doubled nonlinear crystalline waveguide on glass fiber. A ribbon fiber has been drawn on the glass composition of 50GeO2-25B2O3-25(La,Yb)2O3. Surface channel waveguides have been written on the surface of the ribbon fiber, using space-selective laser heating method with the assistance of a 244 nm CW UV laser. The Raman spectrum of the written area indicates that the waveguide is composed of structure-deformed nonlinear (La,Yb)BGeO5 crystal. The laser-induced surface wavy cracks have also been observed and the forming mechanism of the wavy cracks has been discussed. Efficient second harmonic generation has been observed from the laser-induced crystalline waveguide, using a 976 nm diode pump. 13 μW of 488 nm output has been observed from a 17 mm long waveguide with 26.0 mW of launched diode pump power, corresponding to a normalized conversion efficiency of 4.4%W-1.

Coherent communication link using diode-pumped lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kane, Thomas J.; Wallace, Richard W.

1989-01-01

Work toward developing a diffraction limited, single frequency, modulated transmitter suitable for coherent optical communication or direct detection communication is discussed. Diode pumped, monolithic Nd:YAG nonplanar ring oscillators were used as the carrier beam. An external modulation technique which can handle high optical powers, has moderate modulation voltage, and which can reach modulation rates of 1 GHz was invented. Semiconductor laser pumped solid-state lasers which have high output power (0.5 Watt) and which oscillate at a single frequency, in a diffraction limited beam, at the wavelength of 1.06 microns were built. A technique for phase modulating the laser output by 180 degrees with a 40-volt peak to peak driving voltage is demonstrated. This technique can be adapted for amplitude modulation of 100 percent with the same voltage. This technique makes use of a resonant bulk modulator, so it does not have the power handling limitations of guided wave modulators.

Medium-power diode-pumped Nd:BaY2F8 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agnesi, Antonio; Guandalini, Annalisa; Lucca, Andrea; Sani, Elisa; Toncelli, Alessandra; Tonelli, Mauro; dell'Acqua, Stefano

2003-05-01

We report what is to our knowledge the first Nd:BaY2F8 (Nd:BaYF) laser pumped with a multiwatt fiber-coupled diode array tuned at approximately 804 nm. As much as 2.4 W were obtained with 6.2 W of absorbed pump power, showing efficient operation (51% slope efficiency), excellent beam quality (M2=1.1), and weak thermal lensing. Small intracavity losses (<1%) were measured, indicating both reduced thermally induced aberrations and good optical quality of the laser crystal.

Comparing laser induced plasmas formed in diode and excimer pumped alkali lasers.

PubMed

Markosyan, Aram H

2018-01-08

Lasing on the D 1 transition (6 2 P 1/2 → 6 2 S 1/2 ) of cesium can be reached in both diode and excimer pumped alkali lasers. The first uses D 2 transition (6 2 S 1/2 → 6 2 P 3/2 ) for pumping, whereas the second is pumped by photoexcitation of ground state Cs-Ar collisional pairs and subsequent dissociation of diatomic, electronically-excited CsAr molecules (excimers). Despite lasing on the same D 1 transition, differences in pumping schemes enables chemical pathways and characteristic timescales unique for each system. We investigate unavoidable plasma formation during operation of both systems side by side in Ar/C 2 H 6 /Cs.

Diode-Laser Pumped Far-Infrared Local Oscillator Based on Semiconductor Quantum Wells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolokolov, K.; Li, J.; Ning, C. Z.; Larrabee, D. C.; Tang, J.; Khodaparast, G.; Kono, J.; Sasa, S.; Inoue, M.; Biegel, Bryan A. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The contents include: 1) Tetrahertz Field: A Technology Gap; 2) Existing THZ Sources and Shortcomings; 3) Applications of A THZ Laser; 4) Previous Optical Pumped LW Generations; 5) Optically Pumped Sb based Intersubband Generation Whys; 6) InGaAs/InP/AlAsSb QWs; 7) Raman Enhanced Optical Gain; 8) Pump Intensity Dependence of THZ Gain; 9) Pump-Probe Interaction Induced Raman Shift; 10) THZ Laser Gain in InGaAs/InP/AlAsSb QWs; 11) Diode-Laser Pumped Difference Frequency Generation (InGaAs/InP/AlAsSb QWs); 12) 6.1 Angstrom Semiconductor Quantum Wells; 13) InAs/GaSb/AlSb Nanostructures; 14) InAs/AlSb Double QWs: DFG Scheme; 15) Sb-Based Triple QWs: Laser Scheme; and 16) Exciton State Pumped THZ Generation. This paper is presented in viewgraph form.

A 25kW fiber-coupled diode laser for pumping applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malchus, Joerg; Krause, Volker; Koesters, Arnd; Matthews, David G.

2014-03-01

In this paper we report the development of a new fiber-coupled diode laser for pumping applications capable of generating 25 kW with four wavelengths. The delivery fiber has 2.0 mm core diameter and 0.22 NA resulting in a Beam Parameter Product (BPP) of 220 mm mrad. To achieve the specifications mentioned above a novel beam transformation technique has been developed combining two high power laser stacks in one common module. After fast axis collimation and beam reformatting a beam with a BPP of 200 mm mrad x 40 mm mrad in the slow and fast-axis is generated. Based on this architecture a customer-specific pump laser with 25 kW optical output power has been developed, in which two modules are polarization multiplexed for each wavelength (980nm, 1020nm, 1040m and 1060nm). After slow-axis collimation these wavelengths are combined using dense wavelength coupling before focusing onto the fiber endface. This new laser is based on a turn-key platform, allowing straight-forward integration into any pump application. The complete system has a footprint of less than 1.4m² and a height of less than 1.8m. The laser diodes are water cooled, achieve a wall-plug efficiency of up to 60%, and have a proven lifetime of <30,000 hours. The new beam transformation techniques open up prospects for the development of pump sources with more than 100kW of optical output power.

Single-frequency Ince-Gaussian mode operations of laser-diode-pumped microchip solid-state lasers.

PubMed

Ohtomo, Takayuki; Kamikariya, Koji; Otsuka, Kenju; Chu, Shu-Chun

2007-08-20

Various single-frequency Ince-Gaussian mode oscillations have been achieved in laser-diode-pumped microchip solid-state lasers, including LiNdP(4)O(12) (LNP) and Nd:GdVO(4), by adjusting the azimuthal symmetry of the short laser resonator. Ince-Gaussian modes formed by astigmatic pumping have been reproduced by numerical simulation.

High-energy, high-repetition-rate picosecond pulses from a quasi-CW diode-pumped Nd:YAG system.

PubMed

Noom, Daniel W E; Witte, Stefan; Morgenweg, Jonas; Altmann, Robert K; Eikema, Kjeld S E

2013-08-15

We report on a high-power quasi-CW pumped Nd:YAG laser system, producing 130 mJ, 64 ps pulses at 1064 nm wavelength with a repetition rate of 300 Hz. Pulses from a Nd:YVO(4) oscillator are first amplified by a regenerative amplifier to the millijoule level and then further amplified in quasi-CW diode-pumped Nd:YAG modules. Pulsed diode pumping enables a high gain at repetition rates of several hundred hertz, while keeping thermal effects manageable. Birefringence compensation and multiple thermal-lensing-compensated relay-imaging stages are used to maintain a top-hat beam profile. After frequency doubling, 75 mJ pulses are obtained at 532 nm. The intensity stability is better than 1.1%, which makes this laser an attractive pump source for a high-repetition-rate optical parametric amplification system.

Polarization/Spatial Combining of Laser-Diode Pump Beams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gelsinger, Paul; Liu, Duncan

2008-01-01

A breadboard version of an optical beam combiner is depicted which make it possible to use the outputs of any or all of four multimode laser diodes to pump a non-planar ring oscillator (NPRO) laser. The output of each laser diode has a single-mode profile in the meridional plane containing an axis denoted the 'fast' axis and a narrower multimode profile in the orthogonal meridional plane, which contains an axis denoted the 'slow' axis and a narrower multimode profile in the orthogonal meridional plane, which contains an axis denoted the 'slow' axis. One of the purposes served by the beam-combining optics is to reduce the fast-axis numerical aperture (NA) of the laser-diode output to match the NA of the optical fiber. Along the slow axis, the unmodified laser-diode NA is already well matched to the fiber optic NA, so no further slow-axis beam shaping is needed. In this beam combiner, the laser-diode outputs are collimated by aspherical lenses, then half-wave plates and polarizing beam splitters are used to combine the four collimated beams into two beams. Spatial combination of the two beams and coupling into the optical fiber is effected by use of anamorphic prisms, mirrors, and a focusing lens. The anamorphic prisms are critical elements in the NA-matching scheme, in that they reduce the fast-axis beam width to 1/6 of its original values. Inasmuch as no slow-axis beam shaping is needed, the collimating and focusing lenses are matched for 1:1 iumaging. Because these lenses are well corrected for infinite conjugates the combiner offers diffraction-limited performance along both the fast and slow axes.

Highly efficient and high-power diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:LYSO laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Wenlong; Wang, Zhaohua; Zhu, Jiangfeng; Zheng, Lihe; Xu, Jun; Wei, Zhiyi

2017-04-01

A diode-pumped high-power femtosecond Yb:LYSO laser with high efficiency is demonstrated. With a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror for passive mode-locking and a Gires-Tournois interferometer mirror for intracavity dispersion compensation, stable mode-locking pulses of 297 fs duration at 1042 nm were obtained. The maximum average power of 3.07 W was realized under 5.17 W absorbed pump power, corresponding to as high as 59.4% opt-opt efficiency. The single pulse energy and peak power are about 35.5 nJ and 119.5 kW, respectively.

980 nm tapered lasers with photonic crystal structure for low vertical divergence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Xiaolong; Qu, Hongwei; Zhao, Pengchao; Liu, Yun; Zheng, Wanhua

2016-10-01

High power tapered lasers with nearly diffraction-limited beam quality have attracted much attention in numerous applications such as nonlinear frequency conversion, optical pumping of solid-state and fiber lasers, medical treatment and others. However, the large vertical divergence of conventional tapered lasers is a disadvantage, which makes beam shaping difficult and expensive in applications. Diode lasers with photonic crystal structure can achieve a large mode size and a narrow vertical divergence. In this paper, we present tapered lasers with photonic crystal structure emitting at 980 nm. The epitaxial layer is grown using metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The device has a total cavity length of 2 mm, which consists of a 400-um long ridge-waveguide section and a 1600-um long tapered section. The taper angle is 4°. An output power of 3.3 W is achieved with a peak conversion efficiency of 35% in pulsed mode. The threshold current is 240 mA and the slope efficiency is 0.78 W/A. In continuous wave mode, the output power is 2.87 W, which is limited by a suddenly failure resulting from catastrophic optical mirror damage. The far field divergences with full width at half maximum are 12.3° in the vertical direction and 2.9° in the lateral direction at 0.5 A. At high injection level the vertical divergence doesn't exceed 16°. Beam quality factor M2 is measured based on second moment definition in CW mode. High beam quality is demonstrated by M2 value of less than 2 in both vertical and lateral directions.

Diode pumped tunable lasers based on Tm:CaF2 and Tm:Ho:CaF2 ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šulc, Jan; Němec, Michal; Jelinková, Helena; Doroshenko, Maxim E.; Fedorov, Pavel P.; Osiko, Vyacheslav V.

2014-02-01

The Tm:CaF2 (4% of TmF3) and Tm:Ho:CaF2 (2% of TmF3, 0.3% of HoF3) ceramics, prepared using hot pressing, and hot formation technique had been used as an active medium of diode pumped mid-infrared tunable laser. A fibre (core diameter 400 μm, NA = 0.22) coupled laser diode (LIMO, HLU30F400-790) was used to longitudinal pumping. The laser diode was operating in the pulsed regime (6 ms pulse length, 10 Hz repetition rate). The duty-cycle 6% ensures a low thermal load even under the maximum diode pumping power amplitude 25W (ceramics samples were only air-cooled). The laser diode emission wavelength was 786 nm. The 80mm long semi-hemispherical laser resonator consisted of a flat pumping mirror (HR @ 1.85 - 2.15 μm, HT @ 0.78 μm) and a curved (r = 150mm) output coupler with a reflectivity of ˜ 98% @ 1.85 - 2.0 μm for Tm:CaF2 laser or ˜ 99.5% @ 2.0 - 2.15 μm for Ho:Tm:CaF2. Tuning of the laser was accomplished by using a birefringent filter (single 1.5mm thick quartz plate) placed inside the optical resonator at the Brewster angle. Both samples offered broad and smooth tuning possibilities in mid-IR spectral range and the lasers were continuously tunable over ˜ 100 nm. The obtained Tm:CaF2 tunability ranged from 1892 to 1992nm (the maximum output energy 1.8mJ was reached at 1952nm for absorbed pumping energy 78 mJ). In case of Tm:Ho:CaF2 laser tunability from 2016 to 2111nm was reached (the maximum output energy 1.5mJ was reached at 2083nm for absorbed pumping energy 53 mJ). Both these material are good candidates for a future investigation of high energy, ultra-short, laser pulse generation.

Diode-pumped quasi-three-level Nd:GdV O4-Nd:YAG sum-frequency laser at 464 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Jie

2014-04-01

We report a laser architecture to obtain continuous-wave (cw) blue radiation at 464 nm. A 808 nm diode pumped a Nd:GdV O4 crystal emitting at 912 nm. A part of the pump power was then absorbed by the Nd:GdV O4 crystal. The remainder was used to pump a Nd:YAG crystal emitting at 946 nm. Intracavity sum-frequency mixing at 912 and 946 nm was then realized in a LiB3O5 (LBO) crystal to produce blue radiation. We obtained a cw output power of 1.52 W at 464 nm with a pump laser diode emitting 18.4 W at 808 nm.

Apparatus for mounting a diode in a microwave circuit

DOEpatents

Liu, Shing-gong

1976-07-27

Apparatus for mounting a diode in a microwave circuit for making electrical contact between the circuit and ground and for dissipation of heat between the diode and a heat sink. The diode, supported on a thermally and electrically conductive member, is resiliently pressed in electrical contact with the microwave circuit. A tapered collar on the member is elastically deformably wedged into a tapered aperture formed in a heat sink. The wedged collar tightens firmly around the member establishing good thermal and electrical conduction from the diode to the heat sink and ground. Disassembly is facilitated because of the elastically deformed collar.

Green-diode-pumped femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser with up to 450 mW average power.

PubMed

Gürel, K; Wittwer, V J; Hoffmann, M; Saraceno, C J; Hakobyan, S; Resan, B; Rohrbacher, A; Weingarten, K; Schilt, S; Südmeyer, T

2015-11-16

We investigate power-scaling of green-diode-pumped Ti:Sapphire lasers in continuous-wave (CW) and mode-locked operation. In a first configuration with a total pump power of up to 2 W incident onto the crystal, we achieved a CW power of up to 440 mW and self-starting mode-locking with up to 200 mW average power in 68-fs pulses using semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) as saturable absorber. In a second configuration with up to 3 W of pump power incident onto the crystal, we achieved up to 650 mW in CW operation and up to 450 mW in 58-fs pulses using Kerr-lens mode-locking (KLM). The shortest pulse duration was 39 fs, which was achieved at 350 mW average power using KLM. The mode-locked laser generates a pulse train at repetition rates around 400 MHz. No complex cooling system is required: neither the SESAM nor the Ti:Sapphire crystal is actively cooled, only air cooling is applied to the pump diodes using a small fan. Because of mass production for laser displays, we expect that prices for green laser diodes will become very favorable in the near future, opening the door for low-cost Ti:Sapphire lasers. This will be highly attractive for potential mass applications such as biomedical imaging and sensing.

Comparing laser induced plasmas formed in diode and excimer pumped alkali lasers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Markosyan, Aram H.

Here, lasing on the D 1 transition (6 2P 1/2 → 6 2S 1/2) of cesium can be reached in both diode and excimer pumped alkali lasers. The first uses D 2 transition (6 2S 1/2 → 6 2P 3/2) for pumping, whereas the second is pumped by photoexcitation of ground state Cs-Ar collisional pairs and subsequent dissociation of diatomic, electronically-excited CsAr molecules (excimers). Despite lasing on the same D 1 transition, differences in pumping schemes enables chemical pathways and characteristic timescales unique for each system. We investigate unavoidable plasma formation during operation of both systems side by side inmore » Ar/C 2H 6/Cs.« less

Mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser oscillators pumped by wavelength-multiplexed laser diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugiyama, Naoto; Tanaka, Hiroki; Kannari, Fumihiko

2018-05-01

We directly pumped a Ti:sapphire laser by combining 478 and 520 nm laser diodes to prevent the effect of absorption loss induced by the pump laser of shorter wavelengths (∼450 nm). We obtain a continuous-wave output power of 660 mW at a total incident pump power of 3.15 W. We demonstrate mode locking using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror, and 126 fs pulses were obtained at a repetition rate of 192 MHz. At the maximum pump power, the average output power is 315 mW. Shorter mode-locked pulses of 42 and 48 fs were respectively achieved by Kerr-lens mode locking with average output powers of 280 and 360 mW at a repetition rate of 117 MHz.

Comparing laser induced plasmas formed in diode and excimer pumped alkali lasers

DOE PAGES

Markosyan, Aram H.

2018-01-05

Here, lasing on the D 1 transition (6 2P 1/2 → 6 2S 1/2) of cesium can be reached in both diode and excimer pumped alkali lasers. The first uses D 2 transition (6 2S 1/2 → 6 2P 3/2) for pumping, whereas the second is pumped by photoexcitation of ground state Cs-Ar collisional pairs and subsequent dissociation of diatomic, electronically-excited CsAr molecules (excimers). Despite lasing on the same D 1 transition, differences in pumping schemes enables chemical pathways and characteristic timescales unique for each system. We investigate unavoidable plasma formation during operation of both systems side by side inmore » Ar/C 2H 6/Cs.« less

Narrow-line, cw orange light generation in a diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser using volume Bragg gratings.

PubMed

Chen, Y L; Chen, W W; Du, C E; Chang, W K; Wang, J L; Chung, T Y; Chen, Y H

2009-12-07

We report on the demonstration of a narrow-line, cw orange 593-nm laser achieved via intracavity sum-frequency generation (SFG) of a diode-pumped dual-wavelength (1064 and 1342 nm) Nd:YVO(4) laser using two volume Bragg grating (VBG) reflectors. At diode pump power of up to 3.6 W, the 593-nm intracavity SFG laser radiates at the single longitudinal mode of spectral linewidth as narrow as approximately 15 MHz. More than 23-mW single-longitudinal-mode or 40-mW, <8.5-GHz (10-pm) linewidth (at 4.2-W diode pump power) 593-nm orange lights can be obtained from this compact laser system. Spectral tuning of the orange light was performed via the temperature tuning of the two VBGs in this system, achieving an effective tuning rate of ~5 pm/degrees C.

High efficiency 2 micrometer laser utilizing wing-pumped Tm.sup.3+ and a laser diode array end-pumping architecture

DOEpatents

Beach, Raymond J.

1997-01-01

Wing pumping a Tm.sup.3+ doped, end pumped solid state laser generates 2 .mu.m laser radiation at high average powers with high efficiency. Using laser diode arrays to end-pump the laser rod or slab in the wing of the Tm.sup.3+ absorption band near 785 nm results in 2-for-1 quantum efficiency in Tm.sup.3+ because high Tm.sup.3+ concentrations can be used. Wing pumping allows the thermal power generated in the rod or slab to be distributed over a large enough volume to make thermal management practical in the laser gain medium even at high average power operation. The approach is applicable to CW, Q-switched, and rep-pulsed free-laser operation.

High efficiency 2 micrometer laser utilizing wing-pumped Tm{sup 3+} and a laser diode array end-pumping architecture

DOEpatents

Beach, R.J.

1997-11-18

Wing pumping a Tm{sup 3+} doped, end pumped solid state laser generates 2 {micro}m laser radiation at high average powers with high efficiency. Using laser diode arrays to end-pump the laser rod or slab in the wing of the Tm{sup 3+} absorption band near 785 nm results in 2-for-1 quantum efficiency in Tm{sup 3+} because high Tm{sup 3+} concentrations can be used. Wing pumping allows the thermal power generated in the rod or slab to be distributed over a large enough volume to make thermal management practical in the laser gain medium even at high average power operation. The approach is applicable to CW, Q-switched, and rep-pulsed free-laser operation. 7 figs.

Simulation of deleterious processes in a static-cell diode pumped alkali laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliker, Benjamin Q.; Haiducek, John D.; Hostutler, David A.; Pitz, Greg A.; Rudolph, Wolfgang; Madden, Timothy J.

2014-02-01

The complex interactions in a diode pumped alkali laser (DPAL) gain cell provide opportunities for multiple deleterious processes to occur. Effects that may be attributable to deleterious processes have been observed experimentally in a cesium static-cell DPAL at the United States Air Force Academy [B.V. Zhdanov, J. Sell, R.J. Knize, "Multiple laser diode array pumped Cs laser with 48 W output power," Electronics Letters, 44, 9 (2008)]. The power output in the experiment was seen to go through a "roll-over"; the maximum power output was obtained with about 70 W of pump power, then power output decreased as the pump power was increased beyond this point. Research to determine the deleterious processes that caused this result has been done at the Air Force Research Laboratory utilizing physically detailed simulation. The simulations utilized coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and optics solvers, which were three-dimensional and time-dependent. The CFD code used a cell-centered, conservative, finite-volume discretization of the integral form of the Navier-Stokes equations. It included thermal energy transport and mass conservation, which accounted for chemical reactions and state kinetics. Optical models included pumping, lasing, and fluorescence. The deleterious effects investigated were: alkali number density decrease in high temperature regions, convective flow, pressure broadening and shifting of the absorption lineshape including hyperfine structure, radiative decay, quenching, energy pooling, off-resonant absorption, Penning ionization, photoionization, radiative recombination, three-body recombination due to free electron and buffer gas collisions, ambipolar diffusion, thermal aberration, dissociative recombination, multi-photon ionization, alkali-hydrocarbon reactions, and electron impact ionization.

Optimized Biasing of Pump Laser Diodes in a Highly Reliable Metrology Source for Long-Duration Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poberezhskiy, Ilya; Chang, Daniel; Erlig, Hernan

2011-01-01

Non Planar Ring Oscillator (NPRO) lasers are highly attractive for metrology applications. NPRO reliability for prolonged space missions is limited by reliability of 808 nm pump diodes. Combined laser farm aging parameter allows comparing different bias approaches. Monte-Carlo software developed to calculate the reliability of laser pump architecture, perform parameter sensitivity studies To meet stringent Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) Lite lifetime reliability / output power requirements, we developed a single-mode Laser Pump Module architecture that: (1) provides 2 W of power at 808 nm with >99.7% reliability for 5.5 years (2) consists of 37 de-rated diode lasers operating at -5C, with outputs combined in a very low loss 37x1 all-fiber coupler

125-mJ diode-pumped injection-seeded Ho:Tm:YLF laser.

PubMed

Yu, J; Singh, U N; Barnes, N P; Petros, M

1998-05-15

We describe a diode-pumped, room-temperature Ho:Tm:YLF power oscillator with an optical-to-optical efficiency of 0.03. A Q -switched output energy of as much as 125 mJ at 6 Hz with a pulse width of 170 ns was obtained. Single-frequency, nearly transform-limited operation of the laser was achieved by injection seeding. Laser performance as a function of laser rod temperature and pump intensity was also investigated. The high power and high beam quality of this laser make it well suited for use as a coherent wind lidar transmitter on a space platform.

CW lasing of Ho in KLu(WO4)2 in-band pumped by a diode-pumped Tm:KLu(WO4)2 laser.

PubMed

Mateos, Xavier; Jambunathan, Venkatesan; Pujol, Maria Cinta; Carvajal, Joan Josep; Díaz, Francesc; Aguiló, Magdalena; Griebner, Uwe; Petrov, Valentin

2010-09-27

We demonstrate continuous wave (CW) room temperature laser operation of the monoclinic Ho(3+)-doped KLu(WO(4))(2) crystal using a diode-pumped Tm(3+):KLu(WO(4))(2) laser for in-band pumping. The slope efficiency achieved amounts to ~55% with respect to the absorbed power and the maximum output power of 648 mW is generated at 2078 nm.

Diode-pumped Alexandrite laser with passive SESAM Q-switching and wavelength tunability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parali, Ufuk; Sheng, Xin; Minassian, Ara; Tawy, Goronwy; Sathian, Juna; Thomas, Gabrielle M.; Damzen, Michael J.

2018-03-01

We report the first experimental demonstration of a wavelength tunable passively Q-switched red-diode-end pumped Alexandrite laser using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). We present the results of the study of passive SESAM Q-switching and wavelength-tuning in continuous diode-pumped Alexandrite lasers in both linear cavity and X-cavity configurations. In the linear cavity configuration, pulsed operation up to 27 kHz repetition rate in fundamental TEM00 mode was achieved and maximum average power was 41 mW. The shortest pulse generated was 550 ns (FWHM) and the Q-switched wavelength tuning band spanned was between 740 nm and 755 nm. In the X-cavity configuration, a higher average power up to 73 mW, and obtained with higher pulse energy 6 . 5 μJ at 11.2 kHz repetition rate, in fundamental TEM00 mode with excellent spatial quality M2 < 1 . 1. The Q-switched wavelength tuning band spanned was between 775 nm and 781 nm.

Efficient high-power frequency doubling of distributed Bragg reflector tapered laser radiation in a periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate planar waveguide.

PubMed

Jedrzejczyk, Daniel; Güther, Reiner; Paschke, Katrin; Jeong, Woo-Jin; Lee, Han-Young; Erbert, Götz

2011-02-01

We report on efficient single-pass, high-power second-harmonic generation in a periodically poled MgO-doped LiNbO3 planar waveguide using a distributed Bragg reflector tapered diode laser as a pump source. A coupling efficiency into the planar waveguide of 73% was realized, and 1.07 W of visible laser light at 532 nm was generated. Corresponding optical and electro-optical conversion efficiencies of 26% and 8.4%, respectively, were achieved. Good agreement between the experimental data and the theoretical predictions was observed.

Analyses of absorption distribution of a rubidium cell side-pumped by a Laser-Diode-Array (LDA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Hang; Han, Juhong; Rong, Kepeng; Wang, Shunyan; Cai, He; An, Guofei; Zhang, Wei; Yu, Qiang; Wu, Peng; Wang, Hongyuan; Wang, You

2018-01-01

A diode-pumped alkali laser (DPAL) has been regarded as one of the most potential candidates to achieve high power performances of next generation. In this paper, we investigate the physical properties of a rubidium cell side-pumped by a Laser-Diode-Array (LDA) in this study. As the saturated concentration of a gain medium inside a vapor cell is extremely sensitive to the temperature, the populations of every energy-level of the atomic alkali are strongly relying on the vapor temperature. Thus, the absorption characteristics of a DPAL are mainly dominated by the temperature distribution. In this paper, the temperature, absorption, and lasing distributions in the cross-section of a rubidium cell side-pumped by a LDA are obtained by means of a complicated mathematic procedure. Based on the original end-pumped mode we constructed before, a novel one-direction side-pumped theoretical mode has been established to explore the distribution properties in the transverse section of a rubidium vapor cell by combining the procedures of heat transfer and laser kinetics together. It has been thought the results might be helpful for design of a side-pumped configuration in a high-powered DPAL.

Modeling of static and flowing-gas diode pumped alkali lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barmashenko, Boris D.; Auslender, Ilya; Yacoby, Eyal; Waichman, Karol; Sadot, Oren; Rosenwaks, Salman

2016-03-01

Modeling of static and flowing-gas subsonic, transonic and supersonic Cs and K Ti:Sapphire and diode pumped alkali lasers (DPALs) is reported. A simple optical model applied to the static K and Cs lasers shows good agreement between the calculated and measured dependence of the laser power on the incident pump power. The model reproduces the observed threshold pump power in K DPAL which is much higher than that predicted by standard models of the DPAL. Scaling up flowing-gas DPALs to megawatt class power is studied using accurate three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model, taking into account the effects of temperature rise and losses of alkali atoms due to ionization. Both the maximum achievable power and laser beam quality are estimated for Cs and K lasers. The performance of subsonic and, in particular, supersonic DPALs is compared with that of transonic, where supersonic nozzle and diffuser are spared and high power mechanical pump (needed for recovery of the gas total pressure which strongly drops in the diffuser), is not required for continuous closed cycle operation. For pumping by beams of the same rectangular cross section, comparison between end-pumping and transverse-pumping shows that the output power is not affected by the pump geometry, however, the intensity of the output laser beam in the case of transverse-pumped DPALs is strongly non-uniform in the laser beam cross section resulting in higher brightness and better beam quality in the far field for the end-pumping geometry where the intensity of the output beam is uniform.

A high power diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG/BaWO4 Raman laser at 1103 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Lei; Zhang, Xingyu; Liu, Zhaojun; Wang, Qingpu; Cong, Zhenhua; Zhang, Yuangeng; Wang, Weitao; Wu, Zhenguo; Zhang, Huaijin

2013-04-01

Pulsed operation at 1103 nm of a diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG laser with intracavity Raman shifting in BaWO4 is reported. The first Stokes wavelength at 1103 nm was generated by a Raman shift of 332 cm-1 from the fundamental wave (1064 nm). A maximum power at 1103 nm of 9.4 W was obtained for a diode pump power of 115 W at a pulse repetition rate of 15 kHz. The pump-to-Stokes conversion efficiency was up to 8.2%. When the output power at 1103 nm was over 7 W, a second Stokes line at 1145 nm was also observed in the experiment. Our research indicates that efficient Raman conversion can be realized by a Raman frequency shift at 332 cm-1 in BaWO4 Raman lasers.

Development of trivalent ytterbium doped fluorapatites for diode-pumped laser applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bayramian, Andrew James

2000-11-01

A major motivator of this work is the Mercury Project, a one kilowatt diode-pumped solid-state laser system under development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), which incorporates ytterbium doped strontium fluorapatite, Sr5(PO4)3F (S-FAP), as the amplifier gain medium. The primary focus of this thesis is a full understanding of the properties of this material, which is necessary for proper design and modeling of the system. Ytterbium-doped fluorapatites were investigated at LLNL prior to this work and found to be ideal candidate materials for high-power amplifier systems providing high absorption and emission cross sections, long radiative lifetimes, and high efficiency. A family of barium substituted S-FAP crystals was grown in an effort to modify the pump and emission bandwidths for application to broadband diode pumping and short pulse generation. Crystals of Yb 3+:Srs5-xBax(PO4) 3F where x < 1 showed homogeneous lines offering 8.4 nm (1.8X enhancement) of absorption bandwidth and 6.9 nm (1.4X enhancement) of emission bandwidth. The gain saturation fluence of Yb:S-FAP was measured to be 3.2 J/cm 2 with homogeneous extraction using a pump-probe experiment where the probe laser was a high intensity Q-switched master oscillator power amplifier system. The crystal quality of Czochralski grown Yb:S-FAP boules, which is effected by defects such as cracking, cloudiness, bubble core, slip dislocations, and anomalous absorption, was investigated interferometrically and quantified by means of Power Spectral Density (PSD) plots. Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) losses were evaluated by first measuring the SRS gain coefficient to be 1.3 cm/GW, then modeling the losses in the Mercury amplifier system. Countermeasures including the addition of bandwidth to the extraction beam and wedging of amplifier surfaces are shown to reduce the SRS losses allowing efficient laser gain extraction at higher intensities. Finally, an efficient Q-switched Yb:S-FAP oscillator

Diode pumped passively Q-switched Nd:LuAG laser at 1442.6 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guan, Chen; Liu, Zhaojun; Cong, Zhenhua; Liu, Yang; Xu, Xiaodong; Xu, Jun; Huang, Qingjie; Rao, Han; Chen, Xia; Zhang, Yanmin; Wu, Qianwen; Bai, Fen; Zhang, Sasa

2017-02-01

A diode-end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:LuAG laser at 1442.6 nm was demonstrated with a V3+:YAG crystal as the saturable absorber. Under continuous-wave (CW) operation, the maximum output power of 1.83 W was obtained with an absorbed pumping power of 11.1 W. The corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency was 16.5%. Under Q-switched operation, the maximum average output power of 424 mW was obtained at the same pumping power. The pulse duration and pulse repetition rate were 72 ns and 17.4 kHz, respectively.

One joule output from a diode-array-pumped Nd:YAG laser with side-pumped rod geometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kasinski, Jeffrey J.; Hughes, Will; Dibiase, Don; Bournes, Patrick; Burnham, Ralph

1992-01-01

Output of 1.25 J per pulse (1.064 micron) with an absolute optical efficiency of 28 percent and corresponding electrical efficiency of 10 percent was demonstrated in a diode-array-pumped Nd:YAG laser using a side-pumped rod geometry in a master-oscillator/power-amplifier configuration. In Q-switched operation, an output of 0.75 J in a 17-ns pulse was obtained. The fundamental laser output was frequency doubled in KTP with 60 percent conversion efficiency to obtain 0.45 J in a 16-ns pulse at 532 nm. The output beam had high spatial quality with pointing stability better than 40 microrad and a shot-to-shot pulse energy fluctuation of less than +/-3 percent.

Microchip solid-state cylindrical vector lasers with orthogonally polarized dual laser-diode end pumping.

PubMed

Otsuka, Kenju; Chu, Shu-Chun

2013-05-01

We report a simple method for generating cylindrical vector beams directly from laser-diode (LD)-pumped microchip solid-state lasers by using dual end-pumping beams. Radially as well as azimuthally polarized vector field emissions have been generated from the common c-cut Nd:GdVO4 laser cavity merely by controlling the focus positions of orthogonally polarized LD off-axis pump beams. Hyperbolically polarized vector fields have also been observed, in which the cylindrical symmetry of vector fields is broken. Experimental results have been well reproduced by numerical simulations.

1-kilowatt CW all-fiber laser oscillator pumped with wavelength-beam-combined diode stacks.

PubMed

Xiao, Y; Brunet, F; Kanskar, M; Faucher, M; Wetter, A; Holehouse, N

2012-01-30

We have demonstrated a monolithic cladding-pumped ytterbium-doped single all-fiber laser oscillator generating 1 kW of CW signal power at 1080 nm with 71% slope efficiency and near diffraction-limited beam quality. Fiber components were highly integrated on "spliceless" passive fibers to promote laser efficiency and alleviate non-linear effects. The laser was pumped through a 7:1 pump combiner with seven 200-W 91x nm fiber-pigtailed wavelength-beam-combined diode-stack modules. The signal power of such a single all-fiber laser oscillator showed no evidence of roll-over, and the highest output was limited only by available pump power.

Quasi-CW diode-pumped self-starting adaptive laser with self-Q-switched output.

PubMed

Smith, G; Damzen, M J

2007-05-14

An investigation is made into a quasi-CW (QCW) diode-pumped holographic adaptive laser utilising an ultra high gain (approximately 10(4)) Nd:YVO(4) bounce amplifier. The laser produces pulses at 1064 nm with energy approximately 0.6 mJ, duration <3 ns and peak power approximately 200 kW, with high stability, via self-Q-switching effects due to the transient dynamics of the writing and replay of the gain hologram for each pump pulse. The system produces a near-diffraction-limited output with M(2)<1.3 and operates with a single longitudinal mode. In a further adaptive laser configuration, the output was amplified to obtain pulses of approximately 5.6 mJ energy, approximately 7 ns duration and approximately 1 MW peak power. The output spatial quality is also M(2)<1.3 with SLM operation. Up to 2.9 mJ pulse energy of frequency doubled green (532 nm) radiation is obtained, using an LBO crystal, representing approximately 61% conversion efficiency. This work shows that QCW diode-pumped self-adaptive holographic lasers can provide a useful source of high peak power, short duration pulses with excellent spatial quality and narrow linewidth spectrum.

Diode-pumped solid state lasers (DPSSLs) for Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krupke, W.F.

The status of diode-pumped, transverse-gas-flow cooled, Yb-S-FAP slab lasers is reviewed. Recently acquired experimental performance data are combined with a cost/performance IFE driver design code to define a cost-effective development path for IFE DPSSL drivers. Specific design parameters are described for the Mercury 100J/10 Hz, 1 kW system (first in the development scenario).

Supercontinuum generation from 437 to 2850 nm in a tapered fluorotellurite microstructured fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, F.; Jia, Z. X.; Yao, C. F.; Wang, S. B.; Hu, M. L.; Wu, C. F.; Ohishi, Y.; Qin, W. P.; Qin, G. S.

2016-12-01

We demonstrated supercontinuum (SC) generation in a tapered fluorotellurite microstructured fiber (MF) with a sub-micrometer core diameter. Fluorotellurite MFs based on TeO2-BaF2-Y2O3 glasses were fabricated by using a rod-in-tube method and a tapered fluorotellurite MF with a minimum core diameter of ~0.65 µm was prepared by employing a tapering system. A 1560 nm femtosecond fiber laser was used as the pumping source. With increasing the peak power of the launched pump laser to ~11 kW, SC light expanding from 437 to 2850 nm was generated in the tapered fluorotellurite MF. In addition, relatively strong blue-shifted dispersive wave at ~489 nm was also observed from the tapered fluorotellurite MF.

Coherent beam combining architectures for high power tapered laser arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schimmel, G.; Janicot, S.; Hanna, M.; Decker, J.; Crump, P.; Erbert, G.; Witte, U.; Traub, M.; Georges, P.; Lucas-Leclin, G.

2017-02-01

Coherent beam combining (CBC) aims at increasing the spatial brightness of lasers. It consists in maintaining a constant phase relationship between different emitters, in order to combine them constructively in one single beam. We have investigated the CBC of an array of five individually-addressable high-power tapered laser diodes at λ = 976 nm, in two architectures: the first one utilizes the self-organization of the lasers in an interferometric extended-cavity, which ensures their mutual coherence; the second one relies on the injection of the emitters by a single-frequency laser diode. In both cases, the coherent combining of the phase-locked beams is ensured on the front side of the array by a transmission diffractive grating with 98% efficiency. The passive phase-locking of the laser bar is obtained up to 5 A (per emitter). An optimization algorithm is implemented to find the proper currents in the five ridge sections that ensured the maximum combined power on the front side. Under these conditions we achieve a maximum combined power of 7.5 W. In the active MOPA configuration, we can increase the currents in the tapered sections up to 6 A and get a combined power of 11.5 W, corresponding to a combining efficiency of 76%. It is limited by the beam quality of the tapered emitters and by fast phase fluctuations between emitters. Still, these results confirm the potential of CBC approaches with tapered lasers to provide a high-power and high-brightness beam, and compare with the current state-of-the-art with laser diodes.

Efficient diode-pumped Tm:KYW 1.9-μm microchip laser with 1 W cw output power.

PubMed

Gaponenko, Maxim; Kuleshov, Nikolay; Südmeyer, Thomas

2014-05-19

We report on a diode-pumped Tm:KYW microchip laser generating 1 W continuous-wave output power. The laser operates at a wavelength of 1.94 μm in the fundamental TEM(00) mode with 71% slope efficiency relative to the absorbed pump radiation and 59% slope efficiency relative to the incident pump radiation. The optical-to-optical laser efficiency is 43%.

High-power and highly efficient diode-cladding-pumped holmium-doped fluoride fiber laser operating at 2.94 microm.

PubMed

Jackson, Stuart D

2009-08-01

A high-power diode-cladding-pumped Ho(3+), Pr(3+)-doped fluoride glass fiber laser is demonstrated. The laser produced a maximum output power of 2.5 W at a slope efficiency of 32% using diode lasers emitting at 1,150 nm. The long-emission wavelength of 2.94 microm measured at maximum pump power, which is particularly suited to medical applications, indicates that tailoring of the proportion of Pr(3+) ions can provide specific emission wavelengths while providing sufficient de-excitation of the lower laser level.

Intracavity frequency doubling of a continuous-wave, diode-laser-pumped neodymium lanthanum scandium borate laser.

PubMed

Meyn, J P; Huber, G

1994-09-15

Neodymium-doped lanthanum scandium borate [Nd:LaSc(3)(BO(3))(4)] is a new material for efficient and compact diode-pumped solid-state lasers. A simple plane-plane 3-mm-long resonator is formed by a coated Nd(10%):LaSc(3)(BO(3))(4) crystal and a coated potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) crystal. The second-harmonic output power at 531 nm is 522 mW at 2.05-W incident pump power of the diode laser. The corresponding optical efficiency is 25%, and the conversion efficiency from the fundamental to the second harmonic is 55%. The wellknown chaotic power fluctuations of intracavity frequency-doubled lasers (green problem) are avoided by use of a short KTP crystal, between 0.5 and 2 mm in length.

Optimising the efficiency of pulsed diode pumped Yb:YAG laser amplifiers for ns pulse generation.

PubMed

Ertel, K; Banerjee, S; Mason, P D; Phillips, P J; Siebold, M; Hernandez-Gomez, C; Collier, J C

2011-12-19

We present a numerical model of a pulsed, diode-pumped Yb:YAG laser amplifier for the generation of high energy ns-pulses. This model is used to explore how optical-to-optical efficiency depends on factors such as pump duration, pump spectrum, pump intensity, doping concentration, and operating temperature. We put special emphasis on finding ways to achieve high efficiency within the practical limitations imposed by real-world laser systems, such as limited pump brightness and limited damage fluence. We show that a particularly advantageous way of improving efficiency within those constraints is operation at cryogenic temperature. Based on the numerical findings we present a concept for a scalable amplifier based on an end-pumped, cryogenic, gas-cooled multi-slab architecture.

Time Resolved Efficiency Degradation in Potassium Diode Pumped Alkali Laser

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-07

study of the performance of a Potassium OPAL operating in pulsed mode with pulses up to 5 msec Jong at different pulse energies and cell...temperatures. The experiments showed the OPAL efficiency degradation in time with a characteristic time in the range from 0.5 msec to 4.5 msec. The recorded...Lasers", Optics Express, 19(8), 7894-7902 (20 I I) 1. Introduction There has been extensive research into Diode Pumped Alkali Lasers ( OPALs ) during the

12 J, 10 Hz diode-pumped Nd:YAG distributed active mirror amplifier chain with ASE suppression.

PubMed

Liu, Tinghao; Sui, Zhan; Chen, Lin; Li, Zhupeng; Liu, Qiang; Gong, Mali; Fu, Xing

2017-09-04

Experimental amplification of 10-ns pulses to an energy of 12.2 J at the repetition rate of 1-10 Hz is reported from a diode-pumped room-temperature distributed active mirror amplifier chain (DAMAC) based on Nd:YAG slabs. Efficient power scaling at the optical-optical efficiency of 20.6% was achieved by suppressing the transverse parasitic oscillation with ASE absorbers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG active-mirror laser with nanosecond pulse energy beyond 10 joules. The verified DAMAC concept holds the promise of scaling the energy to a 50 J level and higher by adding 10-12 more pieces of active mirror in the chain.

Comparative study of diode-pumped alkali vapor laser and exciplex-pumped alkali laser systems and selection principal of parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Wei; Tan, Rongqing; Li, Zhiyong; Han, Gaoce; Li, Hui

2017-03-01

A theoretical model based on common pump structure is proposed to analyze the output characteristics of a diode-pumped alkali vapor laser (DPAL) and XPAL (exciplex-pumped alkali laser). Cs-DPAL and Cs-Ar XPAL systems are used as examples. The model predicts that an optical-to-optical efficiency approaching 80% can be achieved for continuous-wave four- and five-level XPAL systems with broadband pumping, which is several times the pumped linewidth for DPAL. Operation parameters including pumped intensity, temperature, cell's length, mixed gas concentration, pumped linewidth, and output coupler are analyzed for DPAL and XPAL systems based on the kinetic model. In addition, the predictions of selection principal of temperature and cell's length are also presented. The concept of the equivalent "alkali areal density" is proposed. The result shows that the output characteristics with the same alkali areal density but different temperatures turn out to be equal for either the DPAL or the XPAL system. It is the areal density that reflects the potential of DPAL or XPAL systems directly. A more detailed analysis of similar influences of cavity parameters with the same areal density is also presented.

Octave spanning supercontinuum in an As₂S₃ taper using ultralow pump pulse energy.

PubMed

Hudson, Darren D; Dekker, Stephen A; Mägi, Eric C; Judge, Alexander C; Jackson, Stuart D; Li, Enbang; Sanghera, J S; Shaw, L B; Aggarwal, I D; Eggleton, Benjamin J

2011-04-01

An octave spanning spectrum is generated in an As₂S₃ taper via 77 pJ pulses from an ultrafast fiber laser. Using a previously developed tapering method, we construct a 1.3 μm taper that has a zero-dispersion wavelength around 1.4 μm. The low two-photon absorption of sulfide-based chalcogenide fiber allows for higher input powers than previous efforts in selenium-based chalcogenide tapered fibers. This higher power handling capability combined with input pulse chirp compensation allows an octave spanning spectrum to be generated directly from the taper using the unamplified laser output.

Analytical model for thermal lensing and spherical aberration in diode side-pumped Nd:YAG laser rod having Gaussian pump profile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

M, H. Moghtader Dindarlu; M Kavosh, Tehrani; H, Saghafifar; A, Maleki

2015-12-01

In this paper, according to the temperature and strain distribution obtained by considering the Gaussian pump profile and dependence of physical properties on temperature, we derive an analytical model for refractive index variations of the diode side-pumped Nd:YAG laser rod. Then we evaluate this model by numerical solution and our maximum relative errors are 5% and 10% for variations caused by thermo-optical and thermo-mechanical effects; respectively. Finally, we present an analytical model for calculating the focal length of the thermal lens and spherical aberration. This model is evaluated by experimental results.

1-mJ Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:BaY2F8 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agnesi, Antonio; Carraro, Giovanni; Guandalini, Annalisa; Reali, Giancarlo; Sani, Elisa; Toncelli, Alessandra; Tonelli, Mauro

2004-08-01

We report what is to our knowledge the first high repetition rate Q-switched Nd:BaY2F8 (Nd:BaYF) laser pumped with a multiwatt fiber-coupled diode array tuned at 806 nm. As much as 2.42 W of average power and up to 1.05 mJ of pulse energy were obtained with 6.1 W of absorbed pump power, with excellent beam quality (M2<1.2) and linear polarization.

Gradient heating protocol for a diode-pumped alkali laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, He; Wang, You; Han, Juhong; Yu, Hang; Rong, Kepeng; Wang, Shunyan; An, Guofei; Wang, Hongyuan; Zhang, Wei; Wu, Peng; Yu, Qiang

2018-06-01

A diode-pumped alkali laser (DPAL) has gained rapid development in the recent years. Until now, the structure with single heater has been widely utilized to adjust the temperature of an alkali vapor cell in most of the literatures about DPALs. However, for an end-pumped DPAL using single heater, most pump energy is absorbed by the gain media near the entrance cell window because of the large absorption cross section of atomic alkali. As a result, the temperature in the pumping area around the entrance window will go up rapidly, especially in a case of high pumping density. The temperature rise would bring about some negative influences such as thermal effects and variations in population density. In addition, light scattering and window contamination aroused by the chemical reaction between the alkali vapor and the buffer gas will also affect the output performance of a DPAL system. To find a solution to these problems, we propose a gradient heating approach in which several heaters are tandem-set along the optical axis to anneal an alkali vapor cell. The temperature at the entrance window is adjusted to be lower than that of the other side. By using this novel scheme, one can not only achieve a homogeneous absorption of the pump energy along the cell axis, but also decrease the possibility of the window damage in a DPAL configuration. The theoretical simulation of the laser output features has been carried out for a configuration of multiple heaters. Additionally, the DPAL output performance under different gradient temperatures is also discussed in this paper. The conclusions might be helpful for development of a high-powered and high-beam-quality DPAL.

All-optical switching in GaAs microdisk resonators by a femtosecond pump-probe technique through tapered-fiber coupling.

PubMed

Lin, Yen-Chih; Mao, Ming-Hua; Lin, You-Ru; Lin, Hao-Hsiung; Lin, Che-An; Wang, Lon A

2014-09-01

We demonstrate ultrafast all-optical switching in GaAs microdisk resonators using a femtosecond pump-probe technique through tapered-fiber coupling. The temporal tuning of the resonant modes resulted from the refractive index change due to photoexcited carrier density variation inside the GaAs microdisk resonator. Transmission through the GaAs microdisk resonator can be modulated by more than 10 dB with a switching time window of 8 ps in the switch-off operation using pumping pulses with energies as low as 17.5 pJ. The carrier lifetime was fitted to be 42 ps, much shorter than that of the bulk GaAs, typically of the order of nanoseconds. The above observation indicates that the surface recombination plays an important role in increasing the switching speed.

5-nJ Femtosecond Ti3+:sapphire laser pumped with a single 1 W green diode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muti, Abdullah; Kocabas, Askin; Sennaroglu, Alphan

2018-05-01

We report a Kerr-lens mode-locked, extended-cavity femtosecond Ti3+:sapphire laser directly pumped at 520 nm with a 1 W AlInGaN green diode. To obtain energy scaling, the short x-cavity was extended with a q-preserving multi-pass cavity to reduce the pulse repetition rate to 5.78 MHz. With 880 mW of incident pump power, we obtained as high as 90 mW of continuous-wave output power from the short cavity by using a 3% output coupler. In the Kerr-lens mode-locked regime, the extended cavity produced nearly transform-limited 95 fs pulses at 776 nm. The resulting energy and peak power of the pulses were 5.1 nJ and 53 kW, respectively. To our knowledge, this represents the highest pulse energy directly obtained to date from a mode-locked, single-diode-pumped Ti3+:sapphire laser.

Modeling and simulation performance of sucker rod beam pump

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aditsania, Annisa, E-mail: annisaaditsania@gmail.com; Rahmawati, Silvy Dewi, E-mail: silvyarahmawati@gmail.com; Sukarno, Pudjo, E-mail: psukarno@gmail.com

2015-09-30

Artificial lift is a mechanism to lift hydrocarbon, generally petroleum, from a well to surface. This is used in the case that the natural pressure from the reservoir has significantly decreased. Sucker rod beam pumping is a method of artificial lift. Sucker rod beam pump is modeled in this research as a function of geometry of the surface part, the size of sucker rod string, and fluid properties. Besides its length, sucker rod string also classified into tapered and un-tapered. At the beginning of this research, for easy modeling, the sucker rod string was assumed as un-tapered. The assumption provedmore » non-realistic to use. Therefore, the tapered sucker rod string modeling needs building. The numerical solution of this sucker rod beam pump model is computed using finite difference method. The numerical result shows that the peak of polished rod load for sucker rod beam pump unit C-456-D-256-120, for non-tapered sucker rod string is 38504.2 lb, while for tapered rod string is 25723.3 lb. For that reason, to avoid the sucker rod string breaks due to the overload, the use of tapered sucker rod beam string is suggested in this research.« less

Diode-end-pumped single-longitudinal-mode passively Q-switched Nd:GGG laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Feng; Zhang, Sasa; Cong, Zhenhua; Huang, Qingjie; Guan, Chen; Wu, Qianwen; Chen, Hui; Bai, Fen; Liu, Zhaojun

2018-03-01

Diode-end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GGG laser in a ring cavity at 1062 nm was demonstrated. Single-longitudinal-mode laser linewidth less than 0.5 pm was accomplished by unidirectional operation. The maximum output pulse energy was 437 µJ and the pulse width was 43 ns when Cr4+:YAG with an initial transmission of 61% was used.

Tapered fluorotellurite microstructured fibers for broadband supercontinuum generation.

PubMed

Wang, Fang; Wang, Kangkang; Yao, Chuanfei; Jia, Zhixu; Wang, Shunbin; Wu, Changfeng; Qin, Guanshi; Ohishi, Yasutake; Qin, Weiping

2016-02-01

Fluorotellurite microstructured fibers (MFs) based on TeO2-BaF2-Y2O3 glasses are fabricated by using a rod-in-tube method. Tapered fluorotellurite MFs with varied transition region lengths are prepared by employing an elongation machine. By using a tapered fluorotellurite MF with a transition region length of ∼3.3  cm as the nonlinear medium and a 1560 nm femtosecond fiber laser as the pump source, broadband supercontinuum generation covering from 470 to 2770 nm is obtained. The effects of the transition region length of the tapered fluorotellurite MF on supercontinuum generation are also investigated. Our results show that tapered fluorotellurite MFs are promising nonlinear media for generating broadband supercontinuum light expanding from visible to mid-infrared spectral region.

Low-cost, single-mode diode-pumped Cr:Colquiriite lasers.

PubMed

Demirbas, Umit; Li, Duo; Birge, Jonathan R; Sennaroglu, Alphan; Petrich, Gale S; Kolodziejski, Leslie A; Kaertner, Franz X; Fujimoto, James G

2009-08-03

We present three Cr3+:Colquiriite lasers as low-cost alternatives to Ti:Sapphire laser technology. Single-mode laser diodes, which cost only $150 each, were used as pump sources. In cw operation, with approximately 520 mW of absorbed pump power, up to 257, 269 and 266 mW of output power and slope efficiencies of 53%, 62% and 54% were demonstrated for Cr:LiSAF, Cr:LiSGaF and Cr:LiCAF, respectively. Record cw tuning ranges from 782 to 1042 nm for Cr:LiSAF, 777 to 977 nm for Cr:LiSGaF, and 754 to 871 nm for Cr:LiCAF were demonstrated. In cw mode-locking experiments using semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors at 800 and 850 nm, Cr:Colquiriite lasers produced approximately 50-100 fs pulses with approximately 1-2.5 nJ pulse energies at approximately 100 MHz repetition rate. Electrical-to-optical conversion efficiencies of 8% in mode-locked operation and 12% in cw operation were achieved.

Continuously tunable solution-processed organic semiconductor DFB lasers pumped by laser diode.

PubMed

Klinkhammer, Sönke; Liu, Xin; Huska, Klaus; Shen, Yuxin; Vanderheiden, Sylvia; Valouch, Sebastian; Vannahme, Christoph; Bräse, Stefan; Mappes, Timo; Lemmer, Uli

2012-03-12

The fabrication and characterization of continuously tunable, solution-processed distributed feedback (DFB) lasers in the visible regime is reported. Continuous thin film thickness gradients were achieved by means of horizontal dipping of several conjugated polymer and blended small molecule solutions on cm-scale surface gratings of different periods. We report optically pumped continuously tunable laser emission of 13 nm in the blue, 16 nm in the green and 19 nm in the red spectral region on a single chip respectively. Tuning behavior can be described with the Bragg-equation and the measured thickness profile. The laser threshold is low enough that inexpensive laser diodes can be used as pump sources.

Feasibility of supersonic diode pumped alkali lasers: Model calculations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barmashenko, B. D.; Rosenwaks, S.

The feasibility of supersonic operation of diode pumped alkali lasers (DPALs) is studied for Cs and K atoms applying model calculations, based on a semi-analytical model previously used for studying static and subsonic flow DPALs. The operation of supersonic lasers is compared with that measured and modeled in subsonic lasers. The maximum power of supersonic Cs and K lasers is found to be higher than that of subsonic lasers with the same resonator and alkali density at the laser inlet by 25% and 70%, respectively. These results indicate that for scaling-up the power of DPALs, supersonic expansion should be considered.

Diode-pumped cw Nd:YAG three-level laser at 869 nm.

PubMed

Lü, Yanfei; Xia, Jing; Cheng, Weibo; Chen, Jifeng; Ning, Guobin; Liang, Zuoliang

2010-11-01

We report for the first time (to our knowledge) a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser emitting at 869 nm based on the (4)F(3/2)-(4)I(9/2) transition, generally used for a 946 nm emission. Power of 453 mW at 869 nm has been achieved in cw operation with a fiber-coupled laser diode emitting 35.4 W at 809 nm. Intracavity second-harmonic generation in the cw mode has also been demonstrated with power of 118 mW at 435 nm by using a BiB(3)O(6) nonlinear crystal. In our experiment, we used a LiNbO(3) crystal lens to complement the thermal lens of the laser rod, and we obtained good beam quality and high output power stability.

Efficient single-mode (TEM{sub 00}) Nd : YVO{sub 4} laser with longitudinal 808-nm diode pumping

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Donin, V I; Yakovin, D V; Yakovin, M D

2013-10-31

A single-mode Nd : YVO{sub 4} laser with unidirectional longitudinal pumping by laser diodes with λ = 808 nm and a power of 40 W is studied. In the TEM{sub 00} mode, the output laser power is 24 W with the optical efficiency η{sub opt} = 57.1 % (slope efficiency 63.3 %), which, as far as we know, is the best result for Nd{sup 3+} : YVO{sub 4} lasers with longitudinal pumping at λ = 808 nm from one face of the active crystal. Estimates of thermal effects show that, using a Nd : YVO{sub 4} crystal (length 20 mm,more » diameter 3 mm, dopant concentration 0.27 at%) with two undoped ends and bidirectional diode pumping with a total power of 170 W, one can obtain an output power of ∼100 W in the TEM{sub 00} mode from one active element. (lasers)« less

Tunable, diode side-pumped Er: YAG laser

DOEpatents

Hamilton, Charles E.; Furu, Laurence H.

1997-01-01

A discrete-element Er:YAG laser, side pumped by a 220 Watt peak-power InGaAs diode array, generates >500 mWatts at 2.94 .mu.m, and is tunable over a 6 nm range near about 2.936 .mu.m. The oscillator is a plano-concave resonator consisting of a concave high reflector, a flat output coupler, a Er:YAG crystal and a YAG intracavity etalon, which serves as the tuning element. The cavity length is variable from 3 cm to 4 cm. The oscillator uses total internal reflection in the Er:YAG crystal to allow efficient coupling of the diode emission into the resonating modes of the oscillator. With the tuning element removed, the oscillator produces up to 1.3 Watts of average power at 2.94 .mu.m. The duty factor of the laser is 6.5% and the repetition rate is variable up to 1 kHz. This laser is useful for tuning to an atmospheric transmission window at 2.935 .mu.m (air wavelength). The laser is also useful as a spectroscopic tool because it can access several infrared water vapor transitions, as well as transitions in organic compounds. Other uses include medical applications (e.g., for tissue ablation and uses with fiber optic laser scalpels) and as part of industrial effluent monitoring systems.

Tunable, diode side-pumped Er:YAG laser

DOEpatents

Hamilton, C.E.; Furu, L.H.

1997-04-22

A discrete-element Er:YAG laser, side pumped by a 220 Watt peak-power InGaAs diode array, generates >500 mWatts at 2.94 {micro}m, and is tunable over a 6 nm range near about 2.936 {micro}m. The oscillator is a plano-concave resonator consisting of a concave high reflector, a flat output coupler, a Er:YAG crystal and a YAG intracavity etalon, which serves as the tuning element. The cavity length is variable from 3 cm to 4 cm. The oscillator uses total internal reflection in the Er:YAG crystal to allow efficient coupling of the diode emission into the resonating modes of the oscillator. With the tuning element removed, the oscillator produces up to 1.3 Watts of average power at 2.94 {micro}m. The duty factor of the laser is 6.5% and the repetition rate is variable up to 1 kHz. This laser is useful for tuning to an atmospheric transmission window at 2.935 {micro}m (air wavelength). The laser is also useful as a spectroscopic tool because it can access several infrared water vapor transitions, as well as transitions in organic compounds. Other uses include medical applications (e.g., for tissue ablation and uses with fiber optic laser scalpels) and as part of industrial effluent monitoring systems. 4 figs.

Qualification Testing of Laser Diode Pump Arrays for a Space-Based 2-micron Coherent Doppler Lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Meadows, Byron L.; Baker, Nathaniel R.; Barnes, Bruce W.; Singh, Upendra N.; Kavaya, Michael J.

2007-01-01

The 2-micron thulium and holmium-based lasers being considered as the transmitter source for space-based coherent Doppler lidar require high power laser diode pump arrays operating in a long pulse regime of about 1 msec. Operating laser diode arrays over such long pulses drastically impact their useful lifetime due to the excessive localized heating and substantial pulse-to-pulse thermal cycling of their active regions. This paper describes the long pulse performance of laser diode arrays and their critical thermal characteristics. A viable approach is then offered that allows for determining the optimum operational parameters leading to the maximum attainable lifetime.

Numerical modelling on stimulated Brillouin scattering characterization for Graphene-clad tapered silica fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Hui Jing; Abdullah, Fairuz; Ismail, Aiman

2017-11-01

This paper presents finite numerical modelling on the cross-sectional region of tapered single mode fiber and graphene-clad tapered fiber. Surface acoustic wave propagation across the tapered surface region on tapered single mode fiber has a high threshold power at 61.87 W which is challenging to overcome by the incident pump wave. Surface acoustic wave propagation of fiber surface however made tapered wave plausible in the optical sensor application. This research introduces graphene as the cladding layer on tapered fiber, acoustic confinement occurs due to the graphene cladding which lowers the threshold power from 61.87 W to 2.17 W.

DIRECT CURRENT ELECTROMAGNETIC PUMP

DOEpatents

Barnes, A.H.

1957-11-01

An improved d-c electromagnetic pump is presented in which the poles, and consequently the magetic gap at the poles, are tapered to be wider at the upstream end. In addition, the cross section of the tube carryiQ the liquid metal is tapered so that the velocity of the pumped liquid increases in the downstream direction at a rate such that the counter-induced voltage in the liquid metal remains constant as it traverses the region between the poles. This configuration compensates for the distortion of the magnetic field caused by the induced voltage that would otherwise result in the lowering of the pumping capacity. This improved electromagnetic pump as practical application in the pumping of liquid metal coolants for nuclear reactors where conventional positive displacement pumps have proved unsatisfactory due to the high temperatures and the corrosive properties of the liquid metals involved.

High energy diode-pumped solid-state laser development at the Central Laser Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mason, Paul D.; Banerjee, Saumyabrata; Ertel, Klaus; Phillips, P. Jonathan; Butcher, Thomas; Smith, Jodie; De Vido, Mariastefania; Chekhlov, Oleg; Hernandez-Gomez, Cristina; Edwards, Chris; Collier, John

2016-04-01

In this paper we review the development of high energy, nanosecond pulsed diode-pumped solid state lasers within the Central Laser Facility (CLF) based on cryogenic gas cooled multi-slab ceramic Yb:YAG amplifier technology. To date two 10J-scale systems, the DiPOLE prototype amplifier and an improved DIPOLE10 system, have been developed, and most recently a larger scale system, DiPOLE100, designed to produce 100 J pulses at up to 10 Hz. These systems have demonstrated amplification of 10 ns duration pulses at 1030 nm to energies in excess of 10 J at 10 Hz pulse repetition rate, and over 100 J at 1 Hz, with optical-to-optical conversion efficiencies of up to 27%. We present an overview of the cryo-amplifier concept and compare the design features of these three systems, including details of the amplifier designs, gain media, diode pump lasers and the cryogenic gas cooling systems. The most recent performance results from the three systems are presented along with future plans for high energy DPSSL development within the CLF.

Laser interferometric studies of thermal effects of diode-pumped solid state lasing medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Xiaoyuan; Asundi, Anand K.; Xu, Lei; Chen, Yihong; Xiong, Zhengjun; Lim, Gnian Cher

2000-04-01

Thermal effects dramatically influence the laser performance of diode-pumped solid state lasers (DPSSL). There are three factors accounting for thermal effects in diode-pumped laser medium: the change of the refractive index due to temperature gradient, the change of the refractive index due to thermal stress, and the change of the physical length due to thermal expansion (end effect), in which the first two effects can be called as thermal parts. A laser interferometer is proposed to measure both the bulk and physical messages of solid-state lasing medium. There are two advantages of the laser interferometry to determine the thermal lensing effect. One is that it allows separating the average thermal lens into thermal parts and end effect. Another is that the laser interferometry provides a non- invasive, full field, high-resolution means of diagnosing such effects by measuring the optical path difference induced by thermal loading in a lasing crystal reliable without disturbing the normal working conditions of the DPSS laser. Relevant measurement results are presented in this paper.

Primary investigations on the potential of a novel diode pumped Er:YAG laser system for middle ear surgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stock, Karl; Wurm, Holger; Hausladen, Florian

2016-02-01

Flashlamp pumped Er:YAG lasers are successfully used clinically for both precise soft and hard tissue ablation. Since several years a novel diode pumped Er:YAG laser system (Pantec Engineering AG) is available, with mean laser power up to 40 W and pulse repetition rate up to 1 kHz. The aim of the study was to investigate the suitability of the laser system specifically for stapedotomy. Firstly an experimental setup was realized with a beam focusing unit and a computer controlled translation stage to move the samples (slices of porcine bone) with a defined velocity while irradiation with various laser parameters. A microphone was positioned in a defined distance to the ablation point and the resulting acoustic signal of the ablation process was recorded. For comparison, measurements were also performed with a flash lamp pumped Er:YAG laser system. After irradiation the resulting ablation quality and efficacy were determined using light microscopy. Using a high speed camera and "Töpler-Schlierentechnik" the cavitation bubble in water after perforation of a bone slice was investigated. The results show efficient bone ablation using the diode pumped Er:YAG laser system. Also a decrease of the sound level and of the cavitation bubble volume was observed with decreasing pulse duration. Higher repetition rates lead to a slightly increase of thermal side effects but have no influence on the ablation efficiency. In conclusion, these first experiments demonstrate the high potential of the diode pumped Er:YAG laser system for use in middle ear surgery.

Sub-nanosecond periodically poled lithium niobate optical parametric generator and amplifier pumped by an actively Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:YAG microlaser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, L.; Wang, H. Y.; Ning, Y.; Shen, C.; Si, L.; Yang, Y.; Bao, Q. L.; Ren, G.

2017-05-01

A sub-nanosecond seeded optical parametric generator (OPG) based on magnesium oxide-doped periodically poled lithium niobate (MgO:PPLN) crystal is presented. Pumped by an actively Q-switched diode-pumped 1 kHz, 1064 nm, Nd:YAG microlaser and seeded with a low power distributed feedback (DFB) diode continuous-wave (CW) laser, the OPG generated an output energy of 41.4 µJ and 681 ps pulse duration for the signal at 1652.4 nm, achieving a quantum conversion efficiency of 61.2% and a slope efficiency of 41.8%. Signal tuning was achieved from 1651.0 to 1652.4 nm by tuning the seed-laser current. The FWHM of the signal spectrum was approximately from 35 nm to 0.5 nm by injection seed laser. The SHG doubled the frequency of OPG signal to produce a output energy of 12 µJ with the energy conversion efficiency of 29.0% and tunanble wavelength near 826 nm.

High average power diode pumped solid state laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Yue; Wang, Yanjie; Chan, Amy; Dawson, Murray; Greene, Ben

2017-03-01

A new generation of high average power pulsed multi-joule solid state laser system has been developed at EOS Space Systems for various space related tracking applications. It is a completely diode pumped, fully automated multi-stage system consisting of a pulsed single longitudinal mode oscillator, three stages of pre-amplifiers, two stages of power amplifiers, completely sealed phase conjugate mirror or stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) cell and imaging relay optics with spatial filters in vacuum cells. It is capable of generating pulse energy up to 4.7 J, a beam quality M 2 ~ 3, pulse width between 10-20 ns, and a pulse repetition rate between 100-200 Hz. The system has been in service for more than two years with excellent performance and reliability.

An efficient continuous-wave 591 nm light source based on sum-frequency mixing of a diode pumped Nd:GdVO4-Nd:CNGG laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Y. D.; Liu, J. H.

2013-08-01

We report a laser architecture to obtain continuous-wave (CW) yellow-orange light sources at the 591 nm wavelength. An 808 nm diode pumped a Nd:GdVO4 crystal emitting at 1063 nm. A part of the pump power was then absorbed by the Nd:CNGG crystal. The remaining pump power was used to pump a Nd:CNGG crystal emitting at 1329 nm. Intracavity sum-frequency mixing at 1063 and 1329 nm was then realized in a LiB3O5 (LBO) crystal to reach the yellow-orange radiation. We obtained a CW output power of 494 mW at 591 nm with a pump laser diode emitting 17.8 W at 808 nm.

Improving Lifetime of Quasi-CW Laser Diode Arrays for Pumping 2-Micron Solid State Lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Meadows, Byron L.; Baker, Nathaniel R.; Barnes, Bruce W.; Singh, Upendra N.; Kavaya, Michael J.

2007-01-01

Operating high power laser diode arrays in long pulse regime of about 1 msec, which is required for pumping 2-micron thulium and holmium-based lasers, greatly limits their useful lifetime. This paper describes performance of laser diode arrays operating in long pulse mode and presents experimental data on the active region temperature and pulse-to-pulse thermal cycling that are the primary cause of their premature failure and rapid degradation. This paper will then offer a viable approach for determining the optimum design and operational parameters leading to the maximum attainable lifetime.

Influence of the helium-pressure on diode-pumped alkali-vapor laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Fei; Chen, Fei; Xie, Ji-jiang; Zhang, Lai-ming; Li, Dian-jun; Yang, Gui-long; Guo, Jing

2013-05-01

Diode-pumped alkali-vapor laser (DPAL) is a kind of laser attracted much attention for its merits, such as high quantum efficiency, excellent beam quality, favorable thermal management, and potential scalability to high power and so on. Based on the rate-equation theory of end-pumped DPAL, the performances of DPAL using Cs-vapor collisionally broadened by helium are simulated and studied. With the increase of helium pressure, the numerical results show that: 1) the absorption line-width increases and the stimulated absorption cross-section decreases contrarily; 2) the threshold pumping power decreases to minimum and then rolls over to increase linearly; 3) the absorption efficiency rises to maximum initially due to enough large stimulated absorption cross-section in the far wings of collisionally broadened D2 transition (absorption transition), and then begins to reduce; 4) an optimal value of helium pressure exists to obtain the highest output power, leading to an optimal optical-optical efficiency. Furthermore, to generate the self-oscillation of laser, a critical value of helium pressure occurs when small-signal gain equals to the threshold gain.

Mismatch Considerations in Excitation of Single-Mode Circular Core Parabolic Index Fiber by Laser Diode via Upside Down Tapered Hemispherical Microlens on the Tip of the Fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Bishuddhananda; Middya, Tapas Ranjan; Gangopadhyay, Sankar

2017-12-01

We report the theoretical investigation of the coupling optics involving laser diode to single-mode circular core parabolic index fiber via upside down tapered hemispherical microlens on the tip of the fiber in the presence of possible transverse and angular mismatches. Using the relevant ABCD matrix for such tapered hemispherical microlens, we formulate analytical expressions for the coupling efficiencies in the presence of the said two mismatches. Further, the transmitted spot size of the source via the hemispherical lens and the tapered region should match with the spot size of the fiber for obtaining maximum coupling. The investigations have been made for two practical wavelengths, namely 1.3 and 1.5 μm in order to find the tolerance of this coupling device with respect to the said kinds of mismatches at the concerned wavelengths. Although our simple method predicts the concerned coupling optics excellently, the evaluation of the concerned efficiencies and associated losses involve little computations. Thus this user-friendly technique and also the results found thereof will benefit the designers and packagers who are working in the field of optical technology.

Blue-green diode-pumped solid state laser system for transcutaneous bilirubinometry in neonatal jaundice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamza, Mostafa; El-Ahl, Mohammad H. S.; Hamza, Ahmad M.

2001-01-01

The authors introduce the design of a blue-green diode- pumped solid-state laser system for transcutaneous measurement of serum bilirubin level in jaundiced new born infant. The system follows the principles of optical bilirubinometry. The choice of wavelengths provides correction for the presence of hemoglobin. The new design is more compact and less expensive.

Efficient 10 kW diode-pumped Nd:YAG rod laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akiyama, Yasuhiro; Takada, Hiroyuki; Sasaki, Mitsuo; Yuasa, Hiroshi; Nishida, Naoto

2003-03-01

As a tool for high speed and high precision material processing such as cutting and welding, we developed a rod-type all-solid-state laser with an average power of more than 10 kW, an electrical-optical efficiency of more than 20%, and a laser head volume of less than 0.05 m3. We developed a highly efficient diode pumped module, and successfully obtained electrical-optical efficiencies of 22% in CW operation and 26% in QCW operation at multi-kW output powers. We also succeeded to reduce the laser head volume, and obtained the output power of 12 kW with an efficiency of 23%, and laser head volume of 0.045 m3. We transferred the technology to SHIBAURA mechatronics corp., who started to provide the LD pumped Nd:YAG laser system with output power up to 4.5 kW. We are now continuing development for further high power laser equipment.

Continuous-wave operation of a room-temperature, diode-laser-pumped, 946-nm Nd:YAG laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fan, T. Y.; Byer, Robert L.

1987-01-01

Single-stripe diode-laser-pumped operation of a continuous-wave 946-nm Nd:YAG laser with less than 10-mW threshold has been demonstrated. A slope efficiency of 16 percent near threshold was shown with a projected slope efficiency well above a threshold of 34 percent based on results under Rhodamine 6G dye-laser pumping. Nonlinear crystals for second-harmonic generation of this source were evaluated. KNbO3 and periodically poled LiNbO3 appear to be the most promising.

High power high repetition rate diode side-pumped Q-switched Nd:YAG rod laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lebiush, E.; Lavi, R.; Tzuk, Y.; Jackel, S.; Lallouz, R.; Tsadka, S.

1998-01-01

A Q-switched diode side-pumped Nd:YAG rod laser is presented. The design is based on close coupled diodes which are mounted side by side to a laser rod cut at Brewster angle. No intra-cavity optics are needed to compensate for the induced thermal lensing of the rod. This laser produces 10 W average power with 30 ns pulse width and beam quality of 1.3 times diffraction limited at 10 kHz repetition rate. The light to light conversion efficiency is 12%. The same average power and beam quality is kept while operating the laser at repetition rates up to 50 kHz.

Injection chaining of diode-pumped single-frequency ring lasers for free-space communication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, E. A. P.; Kane, T. J.; Wallace, R. W.; Cornwell, D. M., Jr.

1991-01-01

A high-power three-stage laser suitable for use in a space communication system has been built. This laser uses three diode-pumped Nd:YAG oscillators coherently combined using the technique of injection chaining. All three oscillators are in one compact and permanently aligned package, and are actively frequency locked to provide CW single frequency output. The three stages provide the redundancy desirable for space communications.

Optical vortex generation from a diode-pumped alexandrite laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, G. M.; Minassian, A.; Damzen, M. J.

2018-04-01

We present the demonstration of an optical vortex mode directly generated from a diode-pumped alexandrite slab laser, operating in the bounce geometry. This is the first demonstration of an optical vortex mode generated from an alexandrite laser or from any other vibronic laser. An output power of 2 W for a vortex mode with a ‘topological charge’ of 1 was achieved and the laser was made to oscillate with both left- and right-handed vorticity. The laser operated at two distinct wavelengths simultaneously, 755 and 759 nm, due to birefringent filtering in the alexandrite gain medium. The result offers the prospect of broadly wavelength tunable vortex generation directly from a laser.

Modeling the effect of heatsink performance in high-peak-power laser-diode-bar pump sources for solid-state lasers 011 011

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Honea, E.C., LLNL

We derive approximate expressions for transient output power and wavelength chirp of high- peak-power laser-diode bars assuming one-dimensional heat flow and linear temperature dependences for chirp and efficiency. The model is derived for pulse durations, 10 < {tau} < 1000 ps, typically used for diode-pumped solid-state lasers and is in good agreement with experimental data for Si heatsink mounted 940 nm laser-diode bars operating at 100 W/cm. The analytic expressions are more flexible and easily used than the results of operating point dependent numerical modeling. In addition, the analytic expressions used here can be integrated to describe the energy permore » unit wavelength for a given pulse duration, initial emission bandwidth and heatsink material. We find that the figure-of-merit for a heatsink material in this application is ({rho}C{sub p}K) where {rho}C{sub p} is the volumetric heat capacity and K is the thermal conductivity. As an example of the utility of the derived expressions, we determine an effective absorption coefficient as a function of pump pulse duration for a diode-pumped solid-state laser utilizing Yb:Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F (Yb:S-FAP) as the gain medium.« less

303 nm continuous wave ultraviolet laser generated by intracavity frequency-doubling of diode-pumped Pr3+:LiYF4 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Pengfei; Zhang, Chaomin; Zhu, Kun; Ping, Yunxia; Song, Pei; Sun, Xiaohui; Wang, Fuxin; Yao, Yi

2018-03-01

We demonstrate an efficient and compact ultraviolet laser at 303 nm generated by intracavity frequency doubling of a continuous wave (CW) laser diode-pumped Pr3+:YLiF4 laser at 607 nm. A cesium lithium borate (CLBO) crystal, cut for critical type I phase matching at room temperature, is used for second-harmonic generation (SHG) of the fundamental laser. By using an InGaN laser diode array emitting at 444.3 nm with a maximum incident power of 10 W, as high as 68 mW of CW output power at 303 nm is achieved. The output power stability in 4 h is better than 2.85%. To the best of our knowledge, this is high efficient UV laser generated by frequency doubling of an InGaN laser diode array pumped Pr3+:YLiF4 laser.

Diffraction-limited 577 nm true-yellow laser by frequency doubling of a tapered diode laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christensen, Mathias; Vilera, Mariafernanda; Noordegraaf, Danny; Hansen, Anders K.; Buß, Thomas; Jensen, Ole B.; Skovgaard, Peter M. W.

2018-02-01

A wide range of laser medical treatments are based on coagulation of blood by absorption of the laser radiation. It has, therefore, always been a goal of these treatments to maximize the ratio of absorption in the blood to that in the surrounding tissue. For this purpose lasers at 577 nm are ideal since this wavelength is at the peak of the absorption in oxygenated hemoglobin. Furthermore, 577 nm has a lower absorption in melanin when compared to green wavelengths (515 - 532 nm), giving it an advantage when treating at greater penetration depth. Here we present a laser system based on frequency doubling of an 1154 nm Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) tapered diode laser, emitting 1.1 W of single frequency and diffraction limited yellow light at 577 nm, corresponding to a conversion efficiency of 30.5%. The frequency doubling is performed in a single pass configuration using a cascade of two bulk non-linear crystals. The system is power stabilized over 10 hours with a standard deviation of 0.13% and the relative intensity noise is measured to be 0.064 % rms.

Diode-Pumped Thulium (Tm)/Holmium (Ho) Composite Fiber 2.1-Micrometers Laser

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

composite fiber laser of holmium-core and thulium-doped cladding . The composite fiber was optically pumped by an 803-nm fiber coupled diode source and was...4 odd and 5 even modes were exclusive to the core and first cladding . As the Tm laser modes are excluded from lasing in the second (undoped...of the Tm-doped clad /Ho-doped core fiber laser . In particular, calculations of the model overlap of the cladding modes with the core have been

Yellow light generation by frequency doubling of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Fu-qiang; Zheng, Quan; Xue, Qing-hua; Bu, Yi-kun; Qian, Long-sheng

2006-03-01

We demonstrate the generation of TEM00 mode yellow light in critically type II phase-matched KTiOPO4 (KTP) with intracavity frequency doubling of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser at room temperature. After a 150 μm thick etalon have been inserted into the cavity, the stability and beam quality of the second harmonic generation (SHG) is enhanced. A continuous wave (CW) TEM00 mode output power of 1.67 W at 556 nm is obtained at a pump level of 16 W. The total optical to optical conversion efficiency is about 10.44%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Watt-level yellow light generation by frequency doubling of Nd:YAG laser.

High Average Power Diode Pumped Solid State Lasers: Power Scaling With High Spectral and Spatial Coherence

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-30

seeded with 15 W of single-frequency laser light at 1064 nm and cladding -pumped of 700 W in the forward direction and 300 W in the opposite direction...57-W single-mode phosphate fiber laser Our early studies of phosphate fiber lasers taught us that adding an air-hole to the inner cladding and... cladding -pumped with a fiber-coupled laser diode at 977 nm through a dichroic beam splitter placed on the OC side. The fiber ends were cooled using the

Apparatus for electrolytically tapered or contoured cavities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, L. A. (Inventor)

1967-01-01

An electrolytic machining apparatus for forming tapered or contoured cavities in an electrically conductive and electrochemically erodible piece is presented. It supports the workpiece and an electrode for movement relatively toward each other and has means for pumping an electrolyte between the workpiece and the electrode.

High repetition-rate Q-switched and intracavity doubled diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hemmati, Hamid; Lesh, James R.

1992-01-01

A Nd:YAG laser was end pumped with 2.2 W of continuous-wave (CW) diode laser output. Efficient operation of the laser at high repetition rates was emphasized. This laser provides 890 mW of TEM00 CW output at 1064 nm, and 340 mW of 532 nm average power at a Q-switched repetition rate of 25 kHz. Experimental data are compared with analysis.

Laser diode side-pumped Nd:YVO4 microchip laser with film-etched microcavity mirrors.

PubMed

Li, Jiyang; Niu, Yanxiong; Chen, Sanbin; Tan, Yidong

2017-10-01

Microchip lasers are applied as the light sources on various occasions with the end-pumping scheme. However, the vibration, the temperature drift, or the mechanical deformation of the pumping light in laser diodes in the end-pumping scheme will lead to instability in the microchip laser output, which causes errors and malfunctioning in the optic systems. In this paper, the side-pumping scheme is applied for improving the disturbance-resisting ability of the microchip laser. The transverse mode and the frequency purity of the laser output are tested. To ensure unicity in the frequency of the laser output, numerical simulations based on Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction theory are conducted on the parameters of the microchip laser cavity. Film-etching technique is applied to restrain the area of the film and form the microcavity mirrors. The laser output with microcavity mirrors is ensured to be in single frequency and with good beam quality, which is significant in the applications of microchip lasers as the light sources in optical systems.

Investigation of diode-pumped 2.8- mu m laser performance in Er:BaY2F8

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pollnau, M.; Lüthy, W.; Weber, H. P.; Jensen, T.; Huber, G.; Cassanho, A.; Jenssen, H. P.; McFarlane, R. A.

1996-01-01

Laser operation at 2.8 mu m in BaY2F 8 with erbium concentrations of 7.5% and 20% is investigated under laser-diode pumping at 967 nm. Output powers as high as 250 mW and slope efficiencies as high as 24% are obtained. Results are comparable with those of Er3+ : LiYF4 under the same pump conditions. Slope efficiencies above 30% are predicted for optimized erbium concentrations.

1 Hz fast-heating fusion driver HAMA pumped by a 10 J green diode-pumped solid-state laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mori, Y.; Sekine, T.; Komeda, O.; Nakayama, S.; Ishii, K.; Hanayama, R.; Fujita, K.; Okihara, S.; Satoh, N.; Kurita, T.; Kawashima, T.; Kan, H.; Nakamura, N.; Kondo, T.; Fujine, M.; Azuma, H.; Hioki, T.; Kakeno, M.; Motohiro, T.; Nishimura, Y.; Sunahara, A.; Sentoku, Y.; Kitagawa, Y.

2013-07-01

A Ti : sapphire laser HAMA pumped by a diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is developed to enable a high-repetitive inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiment to be conducted. To demonstrate a counter-irradiation fast-heating fusion scheme, a 3.8 J, 0.4 ns amplified chirped pulse is divided into four beams: two counter-irradiate a target with intensities of 6 × 1013 W cm-2, and the remaining two are pulse-compressed to 110 fs for heating the imploded target with intensities of 2 × 1017 W cm-2. HAMA contributed to the first demonstration by showing that a 10 J class DPSSL is adaptable to ICF experiments and succeeded in DD neutron generation in the repetition mode. Based on HAMA, we can design and develop an integrated repetitive ICF experiment machine by including target injection and tracking.

Passively Q-switched microchip Er, Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 diode-pumped laser.

PubMed

Kisel, V E; Gorbachenya, K N; Yasukevich, A S; Ivashko, A M; Kuleshov, N V; Maltsev, V V; Leonyuk, N I

2012-07-01

We report, for the first time to our knowledge, a diode-pumped cw and passively Q-switched microchip Er, Yb:YAl(3)(BO(3))(4) laser. A maximal output power of 800 mW at 1602 nm in the cw regime was obtained at an absorbed pump power of 7.7 W. By using Co(2+):MgAl(2)O(4) as a saturable absorber, a TEM(00)-mode Q-switched average output power of 315 mW was demonstrated at 1522 nm, with pulse duration of 5 ns and pulse energy of 5.25 μJ at a repetition rate of 60 kHz.

Investigative study of a diode-pumped continuous-wave Tm:YAP laser as an efficient 1.94 μm pump source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwiatkowski, Jacek; Zendzian, Waldemar; Jabczynski, Jan K.

2016-12-01

A detailed study of a Tm:YAP laser in continuous-wave (CW), single-pass end-pumped by a 793 nm diode laser is presented. The laser based on c-cut 3 at. % Tm:YAP crystal was experimentally examined and presented in the dependence on transmittance and radius of curvature of output coupling mirrors. A detailed spectral analysis was presented. The influence of a heat-sink cooling water temperature on the laser performance was studied. At room temperature, for an output coupling transmission of 19.5%, the maximum CW output power of 4.53 W was achieved, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 41.5% and an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 25.7% with respect to the incident pump power, respectively. We have shown that the output spectrum at a certain wavelength (e.g. 1940 nm) for a given pump power can be realized via the change of resonator parameters (OC transmittance, mode size).

2.05 µm holmium-doped all-fiber laser diode-pumped at 1.125 µm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kir'yanov, A. V.; Barmenkov, Y. O.; Villegas Garcia, I.

2017-08-01

We report a holmium-doped all-fiber laser oscillating at ~2.05 µm in continuous wave at direct in-core pumping by a 1.125 µm laser diode. Two types of home-made holmium-doped alumino-germano-silicate fiber (HDF), differentiated in the Ho3+ doping level, were fabricated to implement the laser, for revealing the effect of Ho3+ concentration upon the laser output. Firstly, the fibers were characterized thoroughly from the material and optical viewpoints. Then, laser action with both HDFs was assessed using the simplest Fabry-Perot cavity, assembled by a couple of spectrally adjusted fiber Bragg gratings, also made-in-house. In the best case, when using the lower-doped HDF of proper length (1.4 m), low threshold (~370 mW) and moderate slope efficiency (~13%) of ~2.05 µm lasing were obtained at 1.125 µm diode pumping. Long-term stability, high brightness, low noise, and purely CW operation are shown to be the laser’s attractive features. Yet, when utilizing the heavier-doped HDF, laser output is revealed to be overall worse, with a possible reason being the deteriorating Ho3+ concentration-related effects.

High-Reliability Pump Module for Non-Planar Ring Oscillator Laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Duncan T.; Qiu, Yueming; Wilson, Daniel W.; Dubovitsky, Serge; Forouhar, Siamak

2007-01-01

We propose and have demonstrated a prototype high-reliability pump module for pumping a Non-Planar Ring Oscillator (NPRO) laser suitable for space missions. The pump module consists of multiple fiber-coupled single-mode laser diodes and a fiber array micro-lens array based fiber combiner. The reported Single-Mode laser diode combiner laser pump module (LPM) provides a higher normalized brightness at the combined beam than multimode laser diode based LPMs. A higher brightness from the pump source is essential for efficient NPRO laser pumping and leads to higher reliability because higher efficiency requires a lower operating power for the laser diodes, which in turn increases the reliability and lifetime of the laser diodes. Single-mode laser diodes with Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) stabilized wavelength permit the pump module to be operated without a thermal electric cooler (TEC) and this further improves the overall reliability of the pump module. The single-mode laser diode LPM is scalable in terms of the number of pump diodes and is capable of combining hundreds of fiber-coupled laser diodes. In the proof-of-concept demonstration, an e-beam written diffractive micro lens array, a custom fiber array, commercial 808nm single mode laser diodes, and a custom NPRO laser head are used. The reliability of the proposed LPM is discussed.

Modeling of visible-extended supercontinuum generation from a tapered Ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Rui; Lei, Chengmin; Han, Kai; Chen, Zilun; Pu, Dongsheng; Hou, Jing

2017-05-01

Supercontinuum generation directly from a nonlinear fiber amplifier, especially from a nonlinear ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier, attracts more and more attention due to its all-fiber structure, high optical to optical conversion efficiency, and high power output potential. However, the modeling of supercontinuum generation from a nonlinear fiber amplifier has been rarely reported. In this paper, the modeling of a tapered Ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier for visible extended to infrared supercontinuum generation is proposed based on the combination of the laser rate equations and the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier generally can not generate visible extended supercontinuum due to its pumping wavelength and zero-dispersion wavelength. However, appropriate tapering and four-wave mixing makes the visible extended supercontinuum generation from an ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier possible. Tapering makes the zero-dispersion wavelength of the ytterbium-doped fiber shift to the short wavelength and minimizes the dispersion matching. Four-wave mixing plays an important role in the visible spectrum generation. The influence of pulse width and pump power on the supercontinuum generation is calculated and analyzed. The simulation results imply that it is promising and possible to fabricate a visible-to-infrared supercontinuum with low pump power and flat spectrum by using the tapered ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier scheme as long as the related parameters are well-selected.

High-slope-efficiency 2.06 μm Ho: YLF laser in-band pumped by a fiber-coupled broadband diode.

PubMed

Ji, Encai; Liu, Qiang; Nie, Mingming; Cao, Xuezhe; Fu, Xing; Gong, Mali

2016-03-15

We first demonstrate the laser performance of a compact 2.06 μm Ho: YLF laser resonantly pumped by a broadband fiber-coupled diode. In continuous-wave (CW) operation, maximum output power of 1.63 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 89.2%, was obtained with a near diffraction-limited beam quality. In actively Q-switched operation, maximum pulse energy of 1.1 mJ was achieved at the repetition frequency of 100 Hz. The minimum pulse duration was 43 ns. The performance in both the CW and Q-switched regimes indicates that the current fiber-coupled diode in-band pumped Ho: YLF laser has great potential in certain conditions that require several watts of output power or several millijoules of short pulse energy.

Diode pumped Yb:CN laser at 1082 nm and intracavity doubling to the green spectral range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, B.; Li, Y. L.; Jiang, H. L.

2011-08-01

A diode pumped Yb:CaNb2O6 (Yb:CN) laser at 1082 nm with a maximum output of 1.35 W at 13.3 W pump power has been demonstrated. The slope efficiency was 12.4%. Moreover, intracavity second-harmonic generation (SHG) has also been achieved with a maximum green power of 374 mW by using a LiB3O5 (LBO) nonlinear crystal. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on continuous wave (CW) green generation by intracavity frequency doubling Yb:CN laser.

High-brightness diode pump sources for solid-state and fiber laser pumping across 8xx-9xx nm range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diamant, Ronen; Berk, Yuri; Cohen, Shalom; Klumel, Genady; Levy, Moshe; Openhaim, Yaki; Peleg, Ophir; Yanson, Dan; Karni, Yoram

2011-06-01

Advanced solid state laser architectures place increasingly demanding requirements on high-brightness, low-cost QCW laser diode pump sources, with custom apertures both for side and end rod pumping configurations. To meet this need, a new series of scalable QCW pump sources at 808nm and 940nm was developed. The stacks, available in multiple output formats, allow for custom aperture filling by varying both the length and quantity of stacked laser bars. For these products, we developed next-generation laser bars based on improved epitaxial wafer designs delivering power densities of 20W/mm of emission aperture. With >200W of peak QCW power available from a full-length 1cm bar, we have demonstrated power scaling to over 2kW in 10-bar stacks with 55% wall plug efficiency. We also present the design and performance of several stack configurations using full-length and reduced-length (mini) bars that demonstrate the versatility of both the bar and packaging designs. We illustrate how the ROBUST HEAD packaging technology developed at SCD is capable of accommodating variable bar length, pitch and quantity for custom rod pumping geometries. The excellent all-around performance of the stacks is supported by reliability data in line with the previously reported 20 Gshot space-grade qualification of SCD's stacks.

Pulsed and cw laser oscillations in LiF:F-2 color center crystal under laser diode pumping.

PubMed

Basiev, Tasoltan T; Vassiliev, Sergey V; Konjushkin, Vasily A; Gapontsev, Valentin P

2006-07-15

Continuous-wave laser oscillations in LiF:F-2 crystal optically pumped by a laser diode at 970 nm were demonstrated for what is believed to be the first time. The slope efficiency of 14% and conversion efficiency of 5.5% were achieved for 80 micros pump pulse duration and 5 Hz pulse repetition rate. An efficiency twice as low was measured at a 6.25 kHz pulse repetition rate (50% off-duty factor) and in cw mode of laser operation.

Performance of a 967 nm CW diode end-pumped Er:GSGG laser at 2.79 μm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Z. H.; Sun, D. L.; Wang, S. Z.; Luo, J. Q.; Li, X. L.; Huang, L.; Hu, A. L.; Tang, Y. Q.; Guo, Q.

2013-05-01

We demonstrated a 967 nm diode end-pumped Er:GSGG laser operated at 2.794 μm with spectral width 3.6 nm in the continuous wave (CW) mode. A maximum output power of 440 mW is obtained at an incident pumping power of 3.4 W, which corresponds to an optical-to-optical efficiency of 13% and slope efficiency of 13.2%. The results suggest that a short cavity and efficient cooling setup for the crystal help to improve laser performance.

Integration of high power laser diodes with microoptical components in a compact pumping source for visible fiber laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goering, Rolf; Hoefer, Bernd; Kraeplin, Anke; Schreiber, Peter; Kley, Ernst-Bernhard; Schmeisser, Volkmar

1999-04-01

A novel technique, the so-called skew ray imaging concept, has been developed for beam transformation of high power diode laser bars. It leads to beam circularization with optimum brightness conservation. This concept uses two key microoptical components: a fast axis collimator microlens (FAC) of high isoplanatism and a special array of beam deflecting elements, the number of which corresponds to the single emitter number of the diode laser. Using this concept of skew ray imaging in a modified form, prototypes of pumping sources for visible fiber laser have been developed and built up. Several watts of optical power have been focused into a small spot of 25 micrometers with a numerical aperture of 0.35. GRIN cylindrical microlenses with 0.1 mm focal length and diffractive blazed gratings as redirector have been used. The grating periods of the redirector sections have been between 8 and 100 (mu) M. They have been produced by e-beam direct writing in resist. After optimization of the fabrication process the diffraction efficiencies of al sections have been beyond 86 percent with good reproducibility. Special techniques have been sued for system integration. The FAC microlenses have been attached to a copper lens holder with a subsequent gluing process of the holder to the laser diode heatsink. A UV-curable adhesive with extremely low shrinkage has been selected. The redirector element has been integrated with an additional possibility for lateral adjustment in order to compensate minor residual walk-off effects of the microlens when the laser power is varied from zero to maximum. A very compact pumping source of 3 inches X 1 inch X 1 inch dimensions has been realized with 5 W optical power in the desired spot. First diode pumped fiber laser operation in the visible has been demonstrated with this source.

Development of Trivalent Ytterbium Doped Fluorapatites for Diode-Pumped Laser Applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bayramian, Andrew J.

One of the major motivators of this work is the Mercury Project, which is a 1 kW scalable diode-pumped solid-state laser system under development at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Major goals include 100 J pulses, 10% wallplug efficiency, 10 Hz repetition rate, and a 5 times diffraction limited beam. To achieve these goals the Mercury laser incorporates ytterbium doped Sr 5(PO 4) 3F (S-FAP) as the amplifier gain medium. The primary focus of this thesis is a full understanding of the properties of this material which are necessary for proper design and modeling of the system. Ytterbium doped fluorapatites,more » which were previously investigated at LLNL, were found to be ideal candidate materials for a high power amplifier systems providing high absorption and emission cross sections, long radiative lifetimes, and high efficiency. A family of barium substituted S-FAP crystals were grown in an effort to modify the pump and emission bandwidths for application to broadband diode pumping and short pulse generation. Crystals of Yb 3+:Sr 5-xBa x(PO 4) 3F where x < 1 showed homogeneous lines offering 8.4 nm (1.8 times enhancement) of absorption bandwidth and 6.9 nm (1.4 times enhancement) of emission bandwidth. The gain saturation fluence of Yb:S-FAP was measured to be 3.2 J/cm 2 using a pump-probe experiment where the probe laser was a high intensity Q-switched master oscillator power amplifier system. The extraction data was successfully fit to a homogeneous extraction model. The crystal quality of Czochralski grown Yb:S-FAP crystals, which have been plagued by many defects such as cracking, cloudiness, bubble core, slip dislocations, and anomalous absorption, was investigated interferometrically and quantified by means of Power Spectral Density (PSD) plots. The very best crystals grown to date were found to have adequate crystal quality for use in the Mercury laser system. In addition to phase distortions which are fixed by material growth, thermal

16.7 W 885 nm diode-side-pumped actively Q-switched Nd:YAG/YVO4 intracavity Raman laser at 1176 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Pengbo; Zhang, Guizhong; Liu, Jian; Ding, Xin; Sheng, Quan; Yu, Xuanyi; Sun, Bing; Shi, Rui; Wu, Liang; Wang, Rui; Yao, Jianquan

2017-11-01

We proposed and experimentally demonstrated the generation of high-power 1176 nm Stokes wave by frequency shifting of a 885 nm diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG laser using a YVO4 crystal in a Z-shaped cavity configuration. Employing the 885 nm diode-side-pumped scheme and the Z-shaped cavity, for the first time to our knowledge, we realized the thermal management effectively, achieving excellent 1176 nm Stokes wave consequently. With an incident pump power of ~190.0 W, a maximum average output power of 16.7 W was obtained at the pulse repetition frequency of 10 kHz. The pulse duration and spectrum linewidth of the Stokes wave at the maximum output power were 20.3 ns and ~0.08 nm, respectively.

Overview on new diode lasers for defense applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neukum, Joerg

2012-11-01

Diode lasers have a broad wavelength range, from the visible to beyond 2.2μm. This allows for various applications in the defense sector, ranging from classic pumping of DPSSL in range finders or target designators, up to pumping directed energy weapons in the 50+ kW range. Also direct diode applications for illumination above 1.55μm, or direct IR countermeasures are of interest. Here an overview is given on some new wavelengths and applications which are recently under discussion. In this overview the following aspects are reviewed: • High Power CW pumps at 808 / 880 / 940nm • Pumps for DPAL - Diode Pumped Alkali Lasers • High Power Diode Lasers in the range < 1.0 μm • Scalable Mini-Bar concept for high brightness fiber coupled modules • The Light Weight Fiber Coupled module based on the Mini-Bar concept Overall, High Power Diode Lasers offer many ways to be used in new applications in the defense market.

Diode-side-pumped 131 W, 1319 nm single-wavelength cw Nd:YAG laser.

PubMed

Haiyong, Zhu; Ge, Zhang; Chenghui, Huang; Yong, Wei; Lingxiong, Huang; Jing, Chen; Weidong, Chen; Zhenqiang, Chen

2007-01-20

A diode-side-pumped high-power 1319 nm single-wavelength Nd:YAG continuous wave (cw) laser is described. Through reasonable coating design of the cavity mirrors, the 1064 nm strongest line as well as the 1338 nm one have been successfully suppressed. The laser output powers corresponding to four groups of different output couplers operating at 1319 nm single wavelength have been compared. The output coupler with the transmission T=5.3% has the highest output power, and a 131 W cw output power was achieved at the pumping power of 555 W. The optical-optical conversion efficiency is 23.6%, and the slope efficiency is 46%. The output power is higher than the total output power of the dual-wavelength laser operating at 1319 nm and 1338 nm in the experiment.

Linearly Polarized Single-Frequency Oscillations of Laser-Diode-Pumped Microchip Ceramic Nd:YAG Lasers with Forced Ince-Gaussian Mode Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otsuka, Kenju; Nemoto, Kana; Kamikariya, Koji; Miyasaka, Yoshihiko; Chu, Shu-Chun

2007-09-01

Detailed oscillation spectra and polarization properties have been examined in laser-diode-pumped (LD-pumped) microchip ceramic (i.e., polycrystalline) Nd:YAG lasers and the inherent segregation of lasing patterns into local modes possessing different polarization states was observed. Single-frequency linearly-polarized stable oscillations were realized by forcing the laser to Ince-Gaussian mode operations by adjusting azimuthal cavity symmetry.

Experimental investigation on a diode-pumped cesium-vapor laser stably operated at continuous-wave and pulse regime.

PubMed

Chen, Fei; Xu, Dongdong; Gao, Fei; Zheng, Changbin; Zhang, Kuo; He, Yang; Wang, Chunrui; Guo, Jin

2015-05-04

Employing a fiber-coupled diode-laser with a center wavelength of 852.25 nm and a line width of 0.17 nm, experimental investigation on diode-end-pumped cesium (Cs) vapor laser stably operated at continuous-wave (CW) and pulse regime is carried out. A 5 mm long cesium vapor cell filled with 60 kPa helium and 20 kPa ethane is used as laser medium. Using an output coupler with reflectivity of 48.79%, 1.26 W 894.57 nm CW laser is obtained at an incident pump power of 4.76 W, corresponding an optical-optical efficiency of 26.8% and a slope-efficiency of 28.8%, respectively. The threshold temperature is 67.5 °C. Stable pulsed cesium laser with a maximum average output power of 2.6 W is obtained at a repetition rate of 76 Hz, and the pulse repetition rate can be extend to 1 kHz with a pulse width of 18 μs.

Tapered fiber based Brillouin random fiber laser and its application for linewidth measurement.

PubMed

Gao, Song; Zhang, Liang; Xu, Yanping; Lu, Ping; Chen, Liang; Bao, Xiaoyi

2016-12-12

A one-end pumping Brillouin random fiber laser (BRFL) based on a 5-km tapered fiber (TF) is demonstrated. The enhanced Rayleigh scattering and the increased power density from tapering in the TF provide good directionality and a high degree of coherent feedback. Both the transmitting and TF enhanced Rayleigh scattered pump lights formed effective bi-direction pumping for the Brillouin gain in the standing cavity configuration in the distributed way as the gain and random feedback in the same fiber. The linewidth of the laser shows ~1.17 kHz while the relative intensity noise (RIN) has been verified to be suppressed comparing with that of the two-end pumping of the standard single mode fiber (SMF). Furthermore, utilizing the proposed laser, a high-resolution (~kHz) linewidth measurement method is demonstrated without long delay fiber (>100km) and extra frequency shifter thanks to the acoustic frequency shift from fiber itself.

Experimental observation of breathing solitons and a third harmonic in a tapered photonic crystal fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, F.; Yao, C. F.; Li, C. Z.; Jia, Z. X.; Li, Q.; Wu, C. F.; Ohishi, Y.; Qin, W. P.; Qin, G. S.

2018-02-01

We report the experimental observation of breathing solitons and a third harmonic in a tapered fluorotellurite photonic crystal fiber (PCF) pumped by a 1560 nm femtosecond fiber laser. The PCF has a core diameter that varies continuously along its length, resulting in a zero-dispersion wavelength that moves from 1325 nm to 906 nm over the transition region. By finely controlling the dispersion map of the tapered PCF and increasing the order of the optical solitons, their breathing behavior is observed in the frequency domain and the number of breaths goes up to 9. Furthermore, the breathing behavior of the optical soliton is transferred to the third harmonic through inter-modal phase-matched processes in the tapered PCF, and the third harmonic also breathes with an increase in the pump power.

Laser diode pumped, erbium-doped, solid state laser with high slope efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esterowitz, Leon; Allen, R.; Kintz, G.

1989-10-01

A laser and method for producing a laser emission at a wavelength of substantially 2.8 microns is disclosed. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the laser comprises laser diode means for emitting a pump beam at a preselected wavelength; and a crystal having a preselected host material doped with a predetermined percent concentration of erbium activator ions sufficient to produce a laser emission at substantially 2.8 microns at a slope efficiency of at least 5 percent, but preferrably 10 percent, when the crystal is pumped by the pump beam. It is well known that the human body is comprised of approximately 70 percent water, with various human tissues containing about 60 to 90 percent of water, and bone and cartilage containing about 30 to 40 percent of water. Since the 2.8 micron wavelength has a substantially maximum absorption in water, this 2.8 micron wavelength is the ideal wavelength to use for a large variety of medical laser applications on the human body. A 2.8 micron wavelength laser could be used for precise surgery in such exemplary applications as brain surgery, neurosurgery, eye surgery, plastic surgery, burn treatment, and the removal of malignancies.

A Q-switched Ho:YAG laser with double anti-misalignment corner cubes pumped by a diode-pumped Tm:YLF laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Y. P.; Dai, T. Y.; Wu, J.; Ju, Y. L.; Yao, B. Q.

2018-06-01

We report the acousto-optically Q-switched Ho:YAG laser with double anti-misalignment corner cubes pumped by a diode-pumped Tm:YLF laser. In the continuous-wave operation of Ho:YAG laser, the maximum s-polarized output power of 3.2 W at 2090.3 nm was obtained under the absorbed pump power of 12.9 W by rotating the fast axis of quarter-wave plate to change the output transmission of laser cavity. The corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency was 24.8% and the slope efficiency was 55.7%. When one of the corner cubes was rotated to 11.8° around vertical direction or 6.7° around horizontal direction, the laser could still operate stably. For the Q-switched operation, the pulse energy of Ho:YAG laser was 9.9 mJ with a pulse width of 53 ns at the repetition rate of 100 Hz, resulting in a peak power of 186.8 kW. The beam quality factor M2 of Ho:YAG laser was 1.3.

Gigahertz dual-comb modelocked diode-pumped semiconductor and solid-state lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Link, S. M.; Mangold, M.; Golling, M.; Klenner, A.; Keller, U.

2016-03-01

We present a simple approach to generate simultaneously two gigahertz mode-locked pulse trains from a single gain element. A bi-refringent crystal in the laser cavity splits the one cavity beam into two cross-polarized and spatially separated beams. This polarization-duplexing is successfully demonstrated for both a semiconductor disk laser (i.e. MIXSEL) and a diode-pumped solid-state Nd:YAG laser. The beat between the two beams results in a microwave frequency comb, which represents a direct link between the terahertz optical frequencies and the electronically accessible microwave regime. This dual-output technique enables compact and cost-efficient dual-comb lasers for spectroscopy applications.

High-power and highly efficient diode-cladding-pumped Ho3+-doped silica fiber lasers.

PubMed

Jackson, Stuart D; Bugge, Frank; Erbert, Götz

2007-11-15

We demonstrate high-power operation from a singly Ho3+-doped silica fiber laser that is cladding pumped directly with diode lasers operating at 1150 nm. Internal slope efficiencies approaching the Stokes limit were produced, and the maximum output power was 2.2W. This result was achieved using a low Ho3+-ion concentration and La3+-ion codoping, which together limit the transfer of energy between excited Ho3+ ions.

Diode-pumped continuous-wave Nd:Gd3Ga5O12 lasers at 1406, 1415 and 1423 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Haifeng; Zhu, Wenzhang; Xiong, Feibing; Ruan, Jianjian

2018-05-01

We report a diode-pumped continuous-wave Nd:Gd3Ga5O12 (GGG) laser operating at 1.4 μm spectral region. A dual-wavelength laser at 1423 and 1406 nm is achieved with output power of about 2.59 W at absorbed pump power of 13.4 W. Further increasing the pump power, simultaneous tri-wavelength laser at 1423, 1415 and 1406 nm is also obtained with a maximum output power of 3.96 W at absorbed pump power of 18.9 W. Single-wavelength lasing is also realized at the three emission lines using an intracavity etalon. The laser result is believed to be the highest output power achieved in Nd:GGG crystal, at present, to the best of our knowledge.

Simultaneous triple 914 nm, 1084 nm, and 1086 nm operation of a diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lü, Yanfei; Xia, Jing; Liu, Huilong; Pu, Xiaoyun

2014-10-01

We report a diode-pumped continuous-wave (cw) triple-wavelength Nd:YVO4 laser operating at 914, 1084, and 1086 nm. A theoretical analysis has been introduced to determine the threshold conditions for simultaneous triple-wavelength laser. Using a T-shaped cavity, we realized an efficient triple-wavelength operation at 4F3/2→4I9/2 and 4F3/2→4I11/2 transitions for Nd:YVO4 crystal, simultaneously. At an absorbed pump power of 16 W (or 25 W of incident pump power), the maximum output power was 2.3 W, which included 914 nm, 1084 nm, and 1086 nm three wavelengths, and the optical conversion efficiency with respect to the absorbed pump power was 14.4%.

Efficient CW diode-pumped Tm, Ho:YLF laser with tunability near 2.067 microns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcguckin, B. T.; Menzies, Robert T.

1992-01-01

A conversion efficiency of 42 percent and slope efficiency of approximately 60 percent relative to absorbed pump power are reported from a continuous wave diode-pumped Tm, Ho:YLF laser at 2 microns with output power of 84 mW at sub-ambient temperatures. The emission spectrum is etalon tunable over a range of 16/cm centered on 2.067 microns, with fine tuning capability of the transition frequency with crystal temperature at a measured rate of about -0.03/cm-K. The effective emission cross section is measured to be 5 x 10 exp -21 sq cm. These and other aspects of the laser performance are discussed in the context of calculated atmospheric absorption characteristics in this spectral region and potential use in remote sensing applications.

Single-mode oscillation of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG microchip laser at 1835 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lan, Jinglong; Cui, Qin; Wang, Yi; Xu, Bin; Xu, Huiying; Cai, Zhiping

2016-10-01

Single-mode oscillation of a diode-pumped conventional Nd:YAG laser at 1835 nm is demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge, in the form of microchip configuration. The achieved maximum output power reaches 189 mW with slope efficiency of about 5.5% with respect to absorbed pump power. The laser spectra are measured with linewidth less than 0.08 nm indicating a single longitudinal mode. The output laser beam is also measured to be near diffraction-limited with M2 factors of about 1.2 and 1.5 in x and y directions. Using a mechanical chopper with 50% duty cycle, the maximum output power is improved to 253 mW with slope efficiency of about 9.7%.

Effect of crystal length on the thermal characteristic in Nd: YLF laser with 20W diode pumped

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yahya, K. A.; Hussein, O. A.; Mustafa, O. H.

2016-03-01

Theoretical results are reported on thermal effects along the π- 1047nm and σ- 1053nm polarizations in a cut Nd: YLF rod crystal by using 20W Diode -End-pumped. The crystal length effects on the fraction of absorbed pump radiation converted into heat, radial temperature distribution, and the change in a radial refractive index. The result from this study has shown that a maximum fraction converted into heat is calculated to be around 24% and thermal effects of π-polarized 1047 nm stronger than σ-polarized 1053 nm.

Analysis of Sr{sub 5{minus}x}Ba{sub x}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F:Yb{sup 3+} crystals for improved laser performance with diode-pumping

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schaffers, K.I.; Bayramian, A.J.; Marshall, C.D.

Crystals of Yb{sup 3+}:Sr{sub 1-x}Ba{sub x}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F (0 < x < 5) have been investigated as a means to obtain broader absorption bands than are currently available with Yb{sup 3+}:S-FAP [Yb{sup 3+}: Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F], thereby improving diode-pumping efficiency for high peak power applications. Large diode-arrays have a FWHM pump band of >5 nm while the FWHM of the 900 nm absorption band for Yb:S-FAP is 5.5 nm; therefore, a significant amount of pump power can be wasted due to the nonideal overlap. Spectroscopic analysis of Yb:Sr{sub 5-x}Ba{sub x}-FAP crystals indicates that adding barium to the lattice increasesmore » the pump band to 13-16 run which more than compensates for the diode-array pump source without a detrimental reduction in absorption cross section. However, the emission cross section decreases by approximately half with relatively no effect on the emission lifetime. The small signal gain has also been measured and compared to the parent material Yb:S-FAP and emission cross sections have been determined by the method of reciprocity, the Filchtbauer-Ladenburg method, and small signal gain. Overall, Yb{sup 3+}:Sr{sub 5-x}Ba{sub x}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F crystals appear to achieve the goal of nearly matching the favorable thermal and laser performance properties of Yb:S-FAP while having a broader absorption band to better accommodate diode pumping.« less

High-efficiency diode-pumped actively Q-switched ceramic Nd:YAG/BaWO₄ Raman laser operating at 1666 nm.

PubMed

Zhang, H N; Chen, X H; Wang, Q P; Zhang, X Y; Chang, J; Gao, L; Shen, H B; Cong, Z H; Liu, Z J; Tao, X T; Li, P

2014-05-01

A diode-pumped actively Q-switched Raman laser employing BaWO4 as the Raman active medium and a ceramic Nd:YAG laser operating at 1444 nm as the pump source is demonstrated. The first-Stokes-Raman generation at 1666 nm is achieved. With a pump power of 20.3 W and pulse repetition frequency rate of 5 kHz, a maximum output power of 1.21 W is obtained, which is the highest output power for a 1.6 μm Raman laser. The corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 6%; the pulse energy and peak power are 242 μJ and 8.96 kW, respectively.

Efficient laser-diode end-pumped Nd:GGG lasers at 1054 and 1067 nm.

PubMed

Xu, Bin; Xu, Huiying; Cai, Zhiping; Camy, P; Doualan, J L; Moncorgé, R

2014-10-10

Efficient and compact laser-diode end-pumped Nd:GGG simultaneous multiwavelength continuous-wave lasers at ∼1059, ∼1060 and ∼1062  nm were first demonstrated in a free-running 30 mm plano-concave laser cavity. The maximum output power was up to 3.92 W with a slope efficiency of about 53.6% with respect to the absorbed pump power. By inserting a 0.1 mm optical glass plate acting as a Fabry-Pérot etalon, a single-wavelength laser at ∼1067  nm with a maximum output power of 1.95 W and a slope efficiency of 28.5% can be obtained. Multiwavelength lasers, including those at ∼1054 or ∼1067  nm, were also achievable by suitably tilting the glass etalon. These simultaneous multiwavelength lasers provide a potential source for terahertz wave generation.

Sub-MW peak power diffraction-limited chirped-pulse monolithic Yb-doped tapered fiber amplifier.

PubMed

Bobkov, Konstantin; Andrianov, Alexey; Koptev, Maxim; Muravyev, Sergey; Levchenko, Andrei; Velmiskin, Vladimir; Aleshkina, Svetlana; Semjonov, Sergey; Lipatov, Denis; Guryanov, Alexey; Kim, Arkady; Likhachev, Mikhail

2017-10-30

We demonstrate a novel amplification regime in a counter-pumped, relatively long (2 meters), large mode area, highly Yb-doped and polarization-maintaining tapered fiber, which offers a high peak power directly from the amplifier. The main feature of this regime is that the amplifying signal propagates through a thin part of the tapered fiber without amplification and experiences an extremely high gain in the thick part of the tapered fiber, where most of the pump power is absorbed. In this regime, we have demonstrated 8 ps pulse amplification to a peak power of up to 0.76 MW, which is limited by appearance of stimulated Raman scattering. In the same regime, 28 ps chirped pulses are amplified to a peak power of 0.35 MW directly from the amplifier and then compressed with 70% efficiency to 315 ± 10 fs, corresponding to an estimated peak power of 22 MW.

Low threshold diode-pumped picosecond mode-locked Nd:YAG laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eshghi, M. J.; Majdabadi, A.; Koohian, A.

2017-01-01

In this paper, a low threshold diode pumped passively mode-locked Nd:YAG laser has been demonstrated by using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. The threshold power for continuous-wave mode-locking is relatively low, about 3.2 W. The resonator stability across the pump power has been analytically examined. Moreover, the mode overlap between the pump beam and the laser fundamental mode has been simulated by MATLAB software. Adopting Z-shaped resonator configuration and suitable design of the resonator’s arm lengths, has enabled the author to prepare mode-locking conditions, and obtain 40 ps pulses with 112 MHz pulse repetition rate. The laser output was stable without any Q switched instability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the lowest threshold for CW mode-locking operation of a Nd:YAG laser.

Properties and Frequency Conversion of High-Brightness Diode-Laser Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boller, Klaus-Jochen; Beier, Bernard; Wallenstein, Richard

An overview of recent developments in the field of high-power, high-brightness diode-lasers, and the optically nonlinear conversion of their output into other wavelength ranges, is given. We describe the generation of continuous-wave (CW) laser beams at power levels of several hundreds of milliwatts to several watts with near-perfect spatial and spectral properties using Master-Oscillator Power-Amplifier (MOPA) systems. With single- or double-stage systems, using amplifiers of tapered or rectangular geometry, up to 2.85 W high-brightness radiation is generated at wavelengths around 810nm with AlGaAs diodes. Even higher powers, up to 5.2W of single-frequency and high spatial quality beams at 925nm, are obtained with InGaAs diodes. We describe the basic properties of the oscillators and amplifiers used. A strict proof-of-quality for the diode radiation is provided by direct and efficient nonlinear optical conversion of the diode MOPA output into other wavelength ranges. We review recent experiments with the highest power levels obtained so far by direct frequency doubling of diode radiation. In these experiments, 100mW single-frequency ultraviolet light at 403nm was generated, as well as 1W of single-frequency blue radiation at 465nm. Nonlinear conversion of diode radiation into widely tunable infrared radiation has recently yielded record values. We review the efficient generation of widely tunable single-frequency radiation in the infrared with diode-pumped Optical Parametric Oscillators (OPOs). With this system, single-frequency output radiation with powers of more than 0.5W was generated, widely tunable around wavelengths of 2.1,m and 1.65,m and with excellent spectral and spatial quality. These developments are clear indicators of recent advances in the field of high-brightness diode-MOPA systems, and may emphasize their future central importance for applications within a vast range of optical

Simple taper: Taper equations for the field forester

Treesearch

David R. Larsen

2017-01-01

"Simple taper" is set of linear equations that are based on stem taper rates; the intent is to provide taper equation functionality to field foresters. The equation parameters are two taper rates based on differences in diameter outside bark at two points on a tree. The simple taper equations are statistically equivalent to more complex equations. The linear...

Diode-pumped large-aperture Nd:YAG slab amplifier for high energy nanosecond pulse laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Guangyan; Chen, Yanzhong; He, Jianguo; Lang, Ye; Lin, Weiran; Tang, Xiongxin; Zhang, Hongbo; Kang, Zhijun; Fan, Zhongwei

2017-10-01

A high gain, low thermal-induced wavefront distortion, laser diode-pumped Nd: YAG slab amplifier is demonstrated with its active media dimensions of 7 mm ×35 mm ×138.2 mm. Under the 200 Hz, 1440 W pulse pumping condition while no seed light to amplify, the thermal induced wavefront aberration of a He-Ne probe passing through the gain meUdium is 0.165 λ@633 nm (RMS). The amplifier shows stable aberration character with two major low-order terms, defocus and 0° astigmatism. The fluorescence distribution, stored energy, and small-signal gain of the amplifier are measured and have a good agreement with the calculated results. In the amplifier, the fluorescence is uniformly distributed and the maximum stored energy of 3.2 J can be achieved with a plane-concave cavity at 200 Hz pump repetition frequency. For a repetition frequency of 200 Hz, 25 μJ injection polarized seed-light and 1440 W pump power, the small signal gain reaches 9.45. The amplifier has been successfully employed in a 200 Hz, 5 J, MOPA system with 1.7 times diffraction limited output.

Thermally induced optical deformation of a Nd:YVO4 active disk under the action of multi-beam spatially periodic diode pumping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guryev, D. A.; Nikolaev, D. A.; Tsvetkov, V. B.; Shcherbakov, I. A.

2018-05-01

A study of how the transverse distribution of an optical path changes in a Nd:YVO4 active disk was carried out in a ten-beam spatially periodic diode pumping in the one-dimensional case. The pumping beams’ transverse dimensions were comparable with the distances between them. The investigations were carried out using laser interferometry methods. It was found that the optical thickness changing in the active disk along the line of pumping spots was well described by a Gaussian function.

Power-efficient production of photon pairs in a tapered chalcogenide microwire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer-Scott, Evan; Dot, Audrey; Ahmad, Raja; Li, Lizhu; Rochette, Martin; Jennewein, Thomas

2015-02-01

Using tapered fibers of As2Se3 chalcogenide glass, we produce photon pairs at telecommunication wavelengths with low pump powers. We found maximum coincidences-to-accidentals ratios of 2.13 ± 0.07 for degenerate pumping with 3.2 μW average power, and 1.33 ± 0.03 for non-degenerate pumping with 1.0 μW and 1.5 μW average power of the two pumps. Our results show that the ultrahigh nonlinearity in these microwires could allow single-photon pumping to produce photon pairs, enabling the production of large entangled states, heralding of single photons after lossy transmission, and photonic quantum information processing with nonlinear optics.

Diode-Pumped Long-Pulse-Length Ho:Tm:YLiF4 Laser at 10 Hz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jani, Mahendra G.; Naranjo, Felipe L.; Barnes, Norman P.; Murray, Keith E.; Lockard, George E.

1995-01-01

An optical efficiency of 0.052 under normal mode operation for diode-pumped Ho:Tm:YLiF4 at a pulse repetition frequency of 10 Hz has been achieved. Laser output energy of 30 mJ in single Q-switched pulses with 600-ns pulse length were obtained for an input energy of 3 J. A diffusion-bonded birefringent laser rod consisting of Ho:Tm-doped and undoped pieces of YLF was utilized for 10-Hz operation.

Tunable optofluidic microring laser based on a tapered hollow core microstructured optical fiber.

PubMed

Li, Zhi-Li; Zhou, Wen-Yuan; Luo, Ming-Ming; Liu, Yan-Ge; Tian, Jian-Guo

2015-04-20

A tunable optofluidic microring dye laser within a tapered hollow core microstructured optical fiber was demonstrated. The fiber core was filled with a microfluidic gain medium plug and axially pumped by a nanosecond pulse laser at 532 nm. Strong radial emission and low-threshold lasing (16 nJ/pulse) were achieved. Lasing was achieved around the surface of the microfluidic plug. Laser emission was tuned by changing the liquid surface location along the tapered fiber. The possibility of developing a tunable laser within the tapered simplified hollow core microstructured optical fiber presents opportunities for developing liquid surface position sensors and biomedical analysis.

Generating photon pairs from a silicon microring resonator using an electronic step recovery diode for pump pulse generation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Savanier, Marc, E-mail: msavanier@eng.ucsd.edu; Mookherjea, Shayan, E-mail: smookherjea@eng.ucsd.edu

Generation of photon pairs from compact, manufacturable, and inexpensive silicon (Si) photonic devices at room temperature may help develop practical applications of quantum photonics. An important characteristic of photon-pair generation is the two-photon joint spectral intensity, which describes the frequency correlations of the photon pair. Recent attempts to generate a factorizable photon-pair state suitable for heralding have used short optical pump pulses from mode-locked lasers, which are much more expensive and bigger table-top or rack-sized instruments compared with the Si microchip used for generating photon pairs, and thus dominate the cost and inhibit the miniaturization of the source. Here, wemore » generate photon pairs from an Si microring resonator by using an electronic step-recovery diode to drive an electro-optic modulator which carves the pump light from a continuous-wave laser diode into pulses of the appropriate width, thus potentially eliminating the need for optical mode-locked lasers.« less

Generating photon pairs from a silicon microring resonator using an electronic step recovery diode for pump pulse generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savanier, Marc; Mookherjea, Shayan

2016-06-01

Generation of photon pairs from compact, manufacturable, and inexpensive silicon (Si) photonic devices at room temperature may help develop practical applications of quantum photonics. An important characteristic of photon-pair generation is the two-photon joint spectral intensity, which describes the frequency correlations of the photon pair. Recent attempts to generate a factorizable photon-pair state suitable for heralding have used short optical pump pulses from mode-locked lasers, which are much more expensive and bigger table-top or rack-sized instruments compared with the Si microchip used for generating photon pairs, and thus dominate the cost and inhibit the miniaturization of the source. Here, we generate photon pairs from an Si microring resonator by using an electronic step-recovery diode to drive an electro-optic modulator which carves the pump light from a continuous-wave laser diode into pulses of the appropriate width, thus potentially eliminating the need for optical mode-locked lasers.

Characterization of Yb{sup 3+}:Sr{sub 5{minus}x}Ba{sub x}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F crystals for diode pumped lasers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bayramian, A.J.; Marshall, C.D.; Schaffers, K.I.

Ytterbium-doped Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F (S-FAP) has been shown to be a useful material for diode pumping, since it displays high gain, low loss, and a long radiative lifetime. One of the issues with S-FAP is that it has a relatively narrow absorption bandwidth ({approximately}5 nm) at 900 nm, the diode-pumping wavelength, while the diode`s output bandwidth can be large ({approximately}10 nm). By changing the host slightly, the absorption feature can be broadened to better match the pump bandwidth. Four mixed crystal boules of Yb{sup 3+}:Sr{sub 5{minus}x}Ba{sub x}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F were grown by the Czochralski method with x = 0.25,more » 0.5, 1, and 2. The bandwidth of the 900-nm absorption feature was found to grow with increasing barium concentration from 4.7 nm to a maximum of 15.9 nm. Emission spectra showed a similar bandwidth increase with barium content from 4.9 nm to a maximum of 10 nm. Emission cross sections for these materials were deduced by the methods of reciprocity, the Einstein method, and small-signal gain. The absorption feature`s homogeneity was probed using a tunable pump source which qualitatively showed that the barium-broadened lines were at least partly inhomogeneous. Each of these materials lased with a variety of output couplers. This family of materials was found to provide suitable laser hosts where a broader absorption and/or emission bandwidth is desired.« less

Continuous-wave laser operation at 743 and 753 nm based on a diode-pumped c-cut Pr:YAlO3 crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Xiuji; Huang, Xiaoxu; Liu, Bin; Xu, Bin; Xu, Huiying; Cai, Zhiping; Xu, Xiaodong; Li, Dongzhen; Liu, Jian; Xu, Jun

2018-02-01

We report on blue-diode-pumped continuous-wave Pr:YAlO3 (YAP) crystal lasers. Using a b-cut sample, a maximum output power of 181 mW is achieved at ∼747 nm with slope efficiency of 12.7% with respect to the absorbed power. Using a c-cut sample, a dual-wavelength laser at ∼743 and ∼753 nm is obtained with a total maximum output power of 72 mW by using the blue diode pumping, for the first time to our knowledge. These laser emissions are all linearly polarized and M2 factors of these output laser beams are also measured. YAP is experimentally verified to be one of effective oxide hosts for Pr-doped visible laser operation besides its fluoride counterparts.

Diode-side-pumped continuous wave Nd³⁺ : YVO₄ self-Raman laser at 1176 nm.

PubMed

Kores, Cristine Calil; Jakutis-Neto, Jonas; Geskus, Dimitri; Pask, Helen M; Wetter, Niklaus U

2015-08-01

Here we report, to the best of our knowledge, the first diode-side-pumped continuous wave (cw) Nd3+:YVO4 self-Raman laser operating at 1176 nm. The compact cavity design is based on the total internal reflection of the laser beam at the pumped side of the Nd3+:YVO4 crystal. Configurations with a single bounce and a double bounce of the laser beam at the pumped faced have been characterized, providing a quasi-cw peak output power of more than 8 W (multimode) with an optical conversion efficiency of 11.5% and 3.7 W (TEM00) having an optical conversion efficiency of 5.4%, respectively. Cw output power of 1.8 W has been demonstrated.

High power diode pumped solid state (DPSS) laser systems active media robust modeling and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kashef, Tamer M.; Mokhtar, Ayman M.; Ghoniemy, Samy A.

2018-02-01

Diode side-pumped solid-state lasers have the potential to yield high quality laser beams with high efficiency and reliability. This paper summarizes the results of simulation of the most predominant active media that are used in high power diode pumped solid-state (DPSS) laser systems. Nd:YAG, Nd:glass, and Nd:YLF rods laser systems were simulated using the special finite element analysis software program LASCAD. A performance trade off analysis for Nd:YAG, Nd:glass, and Nd:YLF rods was performed in order to predict the system optimized parameters and to investigate thermally induced thermal fracture that may occur due to heat load and mechanical stress. The simulation results showed that at the optimized values Nd:YAG rod achieved the highest output power of 175W with 43% efficiency and heat load of 1.873W/mm3. A negligible changes in laser output power, heat load, stress, and temperature distributions were observed when the Nd:YAG rod length was increased from 72 to 80mm. Simulation of Nd:glass at different rod diameters at the same pumping conditions showed better results for mechanical stress and thermal load than that of Nd:YAG and Nd:YLF which makes it very suitable for high power laser applications especially for large rod diameters. For large rod diameters Nd:YLF is mechanically weaker and softer crystal compared to Nd:YAG and Nd:glass due to its poor thermomechanical properties which limits its usage to only low to medium power systems.

In-situ Tapering of Chalcogenide Fiber for Mid-infrared Supercontinuum Generation

PubMed Central

Rudy, Charles W.; Marandi, Alireza; Vodopyanov, Konstantin L.; Byer, Robert L.

2013-01-01

Supercontinuum generation (SCG) in a tapered chalcogenide fiber is desirable for broadening mid-infrared (or mid-IR, roughly the 2-20 μm wavelength range) frequency combs1, 2 for applications such as molecular fingerprinting, 3 trace gas detection, 4 laser-driven particle acceleration, 5 and x-ray production via high harmonic generation. 6 Achieving efficient SCG in a tapered optical fiber requires precise control of the group velocity dispersion (GVD) and the temporal properties of the optical pulses at the beginning of the fiber, 7 which depend strongly on the geometry of the taper. 8 Due to variations in the tapering setup and procedure for successive SCG experiments-such as fiber length, tapering environment temperature, or power coupled into the fiber, in-situ spectral monitoring of the SCG is necessary to optimize the output spectrum for a single experiment. In-situ fiber tapering for SCG consists of coupling the pump source through the fiber to be tapered to a spectral measurement device. The fiber is then tapered while the spectral measurement signal is observed in real-time. When the signal reaches its peak, the tapering is stopped. The in-situ tapering procedure allows for generation of a stable, octave-spanning, mid-IR frequency comb from the sub harmonic of a commercially available near-IR frequency comb. 9 This method lowers cost due to the reduction in time and materials required to fabricate an optimal taper with a waist length of only 2 mm. The in-situ tapering technique can be extended to optimizing microstructured optical fiber (MOF) for SCG10 or tuning of the passband of MOFs, 11 optimizing tapered fiber pairs for fused fiber couplers12 and wavelength division multiplexers (WDMs), 13 or modifying dispersion compensation for compression or stretching of optical pulses.14-16 PMID:23748947

Possible repetitive pulse operation of diode-pumped alkali laser (DPAL)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Endo, Masamori

2017-01-01

A theoretical study has been conducted for investigating the possibility of a diode-pumped alkali laser (DPAL) operating in repetitive pulsed mode. A one-dimensional, time-dependent rate-equation simulation of a Cs DPAL was developed to calculate the dynamic behavior of the active medium when Q-switching or cavity dumping was applied. The simulation modeled our small-scale experimental apparatus. In the continuous-wave (CW) mode, the calculated output power was in good agreement with the experimental value. Q-switching was shown to be ineffective because of the short spontaneous lifetime of the active medium, on the order of 10 ns. On the other hand, cavity dumping was proven to be effective. In typical operational conditions, a 54 times increase in peak power with respect to the CW power was predicted.

Intensity noise in diode-pumped single-frequency Nd:YAG lasers and its control by electronic feedback

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kane, Thomas J.

1990-01-01

The power spectrum of the relative intensity noise (RIN) of single-frequency diode-pumped Nd:YAG lasers is observed to be shot-noise limited at frequencies above 20 MHz for a photocurrent of up to 4.4 mA. Relaxation oscillations result in noise 60-70 dB above shot noise at a few hundred kHz. These relaxation oscillations have been suppressed using electronic feedback.

High power diode and solid state lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichler, H. J.; Fritsche, H.; Lux, O.; Strohmaier, S. G.

2017-01-01

Diode lasers are now basic pump sources of crystal, glass fiber and other solid state lasers. Progress in the performance of all these lasers is related. Examples of recently developed diode pumped lasers and Raman frequency converters are described for applications in materials processing, Lidar and medical surgery.

High-power linearly polarized diode-side-pumped a-cut Nd:GdVO4 rod laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaowen; Qian, Jianqiang; Zhang, Baitao

2017-03-01

An efficiently high-power diode-side-pumped Nd:GdVO4 rod laser system was successfully demonstrated, operating in continuous wave (CW) and acousto-optically (AO) Q-switched regime. With a 65 mm-long a-cut Nd:GdVO4 crystal, a maximum linearly polarized CW output power of 60 W at 1063.2 nm was obtained under an absorbed pump power of 180 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 50.6%. The output laser beam was linearly polarized with a degree of polarization of 98%. In AO Q-switched operation, the highest output power, minimum pulse width, and highest peak power were achieved to be 42 W, 36 ns, and 58 kW at the pulse repetition frequency of 20 kHz.

Quasi-phase-matched χ(3 )-parametric interactions in sinusoidally tapered waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saleh, Mohammed F.

2018-01-01

In this article, I show how periodically tapered waveguides can be employed as efficient quasi-phase-matching schemes for four-wave mixing parametric processes in third-order nonlinear materials. As an example, a thorough study of enhancing third-harmonic generation in sinusoidally tapered fibers has been conducted. The quasi-phase-matching condition has been obtained for nonlinear parametric interactions in these structures using Fourier-series analysis. The dependencies of the conversion efficiency of the third harmonic on the modulation amplitude, tapering period, longitudinal-propagation direction, and pump wavelength have been studied. In comparison to uniform waveguides, the conversion efficiency has been enhanced by orders of magnitudes. I envisage that this work will have a great impact in the field of guided nonlinear optics using centrosymmetric materials.

Five-order SRSs and supercontinuum generation from a tapered tellurite microstructured fiber with longitudinally varying dispersion.

PubMed

Liao, Meisong; Yan, Xin; Gao, Weiqing; Duan, Zhongchao; Qin, Guanshi; Suzuki, Takenobu; Ohishi, Yasutake

2011-08-01

We try to obtain stable supercontinuum (SC) generation with broad bandwidth under relative simple pump conditions. We use a 1.3-m-long highly nonlinear tellurite microstructured fiber and pump it by a 15 ps 1064 nm fiber laser. One segment of the fiber is tapered from a core diameter of 3.4 μm to 1.3 μm. For the first time five-order stimulated Raman scatterings (SRSs) are observed for soft glass fibers. SC covering 730-1700 nm is demonstrated with the pump-pulse-energy of several nJ. The mechanisms of SC broadening are mainly SRS, self-phase modulation (SPM) and cross phase modulation (XPM). The tapered segment has two advantages. Firstly it increases the nonlinearity of fiber by several times. Secondly, it acts as a compensation for the dispersion of the untapered segment, and mitigates the walk-off between pump pulse and SRS peaks.

Experimental development of rod pinch diode radiographic source using modified KALI 1000 pulsed power system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Satyanarayana, N.; Basu, Shibaji; Rajawat, R.K., E-mail: satya_3026@yahoo.com

2014-07-01

This paper highlights the development of Rod Pinch (RP) diode for flash X-ray generation as intense radiographic source at BARC, Vizag. The typical RP diode employed used a small diameter (1-2 mm) anode rod extended through a cathode circular aperture (5-6 mm inner diameter). The diode chamber is maintained at 10{sup -5} Torr vacuum by a rotary backed diffusion pump. Experiments performed on a modified Kali 1000 Pulsed Power System (300 kV, 30 kA, 100 ns) were aimed at optimizing the source by maximizing the figure of merit (dose @ 1m in rad/spot diameter{sup 2} in mm{sup 2}) with minimizingmore » of the diode impedance. The typical electron beam parameters used in the experiments are 240-270 kV, 20-25 kA, 100 ns, with a few hundreds of kA/cm{sup 2} current density. The optimization resulted in a configuration with tungsten anode rod having dimensions of a 1.6 mm diameter, tapering extension length 5-25 mm beyond the graphite cathode aperture (Cathode disk ID = 5 mm, thickness = 3mm) to produce a radiation dose of 150-200 milli rad at 1 m distance having an estimated spot-size of 1-2 mm. The radiation emitted from a rod-pinch diode is measured using Thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDs) at an angular interval of 15° on either side of the rod in horizontal and vertical plane. (author)« less

Dysprosium-doped PbGa2S4 laser generating at 4.3 μm directly pumped by 1.7 μm laser diode.

PubMed

Jelínková, Helena; Doroshenko, Maxim E; Jelínek, Michal; Sulc, Jan; Osiko, Vyacheslav V; Badikov, Valerii V; Badikov, Dmitrii V

2013-08-15

In this Letter, we demonstrate the pulsed and CW operation of the Dy:PbGa(2)S(4) laser directly pumped by the 1.7 μm laser diode. In the pulsed regime (pulse duration 5 ms; repetition rate 20 Hz), the maximum mean output power of 9.5 mW was obtained with the slope efficiency of 9.3% with respect to the absorbed pump power. The generated wavelength was 4.32 μm, and the laser beam cross section was approximately Gaussian on both axes. Stable CW laser generation was also successfully obtained with the maximum output power of 67 mW and the slope efficiency of 8%. Depopulation of the lower laser level by 1.7 μm pump radiation absorption followed by 1.3 μm upconversion fluorescence was demonstrated. These results show the possibility of construction of the compact diode-pumped solid-state pulsed or CW laser generating at 4.3 μm in the power level of tens mW operating at room temperature.

Efficient, diode-pumped Tm3+:BaY2F8 vibronic laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cornacchia, F.; Parisi, D.; Bernardini, C.; Toncelli, A.; Tonelli, M.

2004-05-01

In this work we report the spectroscopy and laser results of several Thulium doped BaY2F8 single crystals grown using the Czochralski technique. The doping concentration is between 2at.% and 18at.%. We performed room temperature laser experiments pumping the samples with a laser diode at 789 nm obtaining 61% as maximum optical-to-optical efficiency with a maximum output power of 290 mW and a minimum lasing threshold of 26 mW. The lasing wavelength changed with the dopant concentration from 1927 nm up to 2030 nm and the nature of the transition changed from purely electronic to vibronic, accordingly.

Principles and performance of tapered fiber lasers: from uniform to flared geometry.

PubMed

Kerttula, Juho; Filippov, Valery; Chamorovskii, Yuri; Ustimchik, Vasily; Golant, Konstantin; Okhotnikov, Oleg G

2012-10-10

We have studied the recently demonstrated concept of fiber lasers based on active tapered double-clad fiber (T-DCF) in copropagating and counterpropagating configurations, both theoretically and experimentally, and compared the performance to fiber lasers based on conventional cylindrical fibers in end-pumped configurations. Specific properties of T-DCFs were considered theoretically using a rate-equation model developed for tapered fibers, and a detailed comparative study was carried out experimentally. Furthermore, we have studied mode coupling effects in long adiabatic tapers due to coiling and local bending. The results allow us to conclude that, with proper fiber design, the T-DCF technology offers a high-potential alternative for bright, cost-effective fiber devices.

High-power diode-side-pumped rod Tm:YAG laser at 2.07 μm.

PubMed

Wang, Caili; Niu, Yanxiong; Du, Shifeng; Zhang, Chao; Wang, Zhichao; Li, Fangqin; Xu, Jialin; Bo, Yong; Peng, Qinjun; Cui, Dafu; Zhang, Jingyuan; Xu, Zuyan

2013-11-01

We report a high-power diode-laser (LD) side-pumped rod Tm:YAG laser of around 2 μm. The laser was water-cooled at 8°C and yielded a maximum output power of 267 W at 2.07 μm, which is the highest output power for an all solid-state cw 2.07 μm rod Tm:YAG laser reported as far as we know. The corresponding optical-optical conversion efficiency was 20.7%, and the slope efficiency was about 29.8%, respectively.

1047nm 270mJ all solid state diode pumped MOPA at 50 Hz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jian; Yang, Qi; Lu, Tingting; Ma, Xiuhua; Zhu, Xiaolei; Chen, Weibiao

2015-02-01

A diode-pumped nanosecond Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA) system based on Nd:YLF crystal slabs has been demonstrated. The seed pulses with pulse duration of 11 ns were generated in an EO Q-switched Nd:YLF laser, with single pulse energy of 10 mJ. The 1047 nm signal pulses were amplified in a double-pass amplification system. Maximum output pulse energy of 270 mJ at a repetition rate of 50 Hz has been achieved with effective optical-to-optical efficiency of 14.5%.

Design modeling of the 100-J diode-pumped solid-state laser for Project Mercury

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Orth, C., LLNL

We present the energy, propagation, and thermal modeling for a diode-pumped solid-state laser called Mercury being designed and built at LLNL using Yb:S-FAP [i.e., Yb{sup 3+}-doped Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F crystals] for the gain medium. This laser is intended to produce 100 J pulses at 1 to 10 ns at 10 Hz with an electrical efficiency of {approximately}10%. Our modeling indicates that the laser will be able to meet its performance goals.

Frequency stability and offset locking of a laser-diode-pumped Nd:YAG monolithic nonplanar ring oscillator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kane, Thomas J.; Nilsson, Alan C.; Byer, Robert L.

1987-01-01

The frequency stability of laser-diode-pumped, monolithic Nd:YAG solid-state unidirectional nonplanar ring oscillators was studied by heterodyne measurements. CW single-axial- and transverse-mode power of 25 mW at 1064 nm was obtained at a slope efficiency of 19 percent. Two independent oscillators were offset-locked at 17 MHz with frequency fluctuations of less than + or - 40 kHz for periods of 8 min.

Reviews of a Diode-Pumped Alkali Laser (DPAL): a potential high powered light source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, He; Wang, You; Han, Juhong; An, Guofei; Zhang, Wei; Xue, Liangping; Wang, Hongyuan; Zhou, Jie; Gao, Ming; Jiang, Zhigang

2015-03-01

Diode pumped alkali vapor lasers (DPALs) were first developed by in W. F. Krupke at the beginning of the 21th century. In the recent years, DPALs have been rapidly developed because of their high Stokes efficiency, good beam quality, compact size and near-infrared emission wavelengths. The Stokes efficiency of a DPAL can achieve a miraculous level as high as 95.3% for cesium (Cs), 98.1% for rubidium (Rb), and 99.6% for potassium (K), respectively. The thermal effect of a DPAL is theoretically smaller than that of a normal diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL). Additionally, generated heat of a DPAL can be removed by circulating the gases inside a sealed system. Therefore, the thermal management would be relatively simple for realization of a high-powered DPAL. In the meantime, DPALs combine the advantages of both DPSSLs and normal gas lasers but evade the disadvantages of them. Generally, the collisionally broadened cross sections of both the D1 and the D2 lines for a DPAL are much larger than those for the most conventional solid-state, fiber and gas lasers. Thus, DPALs provide an outstanding potentiality for realization of high-powered laser systems. It has been shown that a DPAL is now becoming one of the most promising candidates for simultaneously achieving good beam quality and high output power. With a lot of marvelous merits, a DPAL becomes one of the most hopeful high-powered laser sources of next generation.

Investigations on the potential of a low power diode pumped Er:YAG laser system for oral surgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stock, Karl; Wurm, Holger; Hausladen, Florian; Wagner, Sophia; Hibst, Raimund

2015-02-01

Flash lamp pumped Er:YAG-lasers are used in clinical practice for dental applications successfully. As an alternative, several diode pumped Er:YAG laser systems (Pantec Engineering AG) become available, with mean laser power of 2W, 15W, and 30W. The aim of the presented study is to investigate the potential of the 2W Er:YAG laser system for oral surgery. At first an appropriate experimental set-up was realized with a beam delivery and both, a focusing unit for non-contact tissue cutting and a fiber tip for tissue cutting in contact mode. In order to produce reproducible cuts, the samples (porcine gingiva) were moved by a computer controlled translation stage. On the fresh samples cutting depth and quality were determined by light microscopy. Afterwards histological sections were prepared and microscopically analyzed regarding cutting depth and thermal damage zone. The experiments show that low laser power ≤ 2W is sufficient to perform efficient oral soft tissue cutting with cut depth up to 2mm (sample movement 2mm/s). The width of the thermal damage zone can be controlled by the irradiation parameters within a range of about 50μm to 110μm. In general, thermal injury is more pronounced using fiber tips in contact mode compared to the focused laser beam. In conclusion the results reveal that even the low power diode pumped Er:YAG laser is an appropriate tool for oral surgery.

808-nm diode-pumped dual-wavelength passively Q-switched Nd:LuLiF4 laser with Bi-doped GaAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, S. X.; Li, T.; Li, D. C.; Zhao, S. Z.; Li, G. Q.; Hang, Y.; Zhang, P. X.; Li, X. Y.; Qiao, H.

2015-09-01

Diode-pumped CW and passively Q-switched Nd:LuLiF4 lasers with stable, synchronous dual-wavelength operations near 1047 and 1053 nm were demonstrated for the first time. The maximal CW output power of 821 mW was obtained at an incident pump power of 6.52 W. Employing high quality Bi-doped GaAs as saturable absorber, stable dual-wavelength Q-switched operation was realized. Under 6.52 W incident pump power, the minimal pulse duration of 1.5 ns, the largest single pulse energy of 11.32 μJ, and the highest peak power of 7.25 kW were achieved.

Self-mode-locking operation of a diode-end-pumped Tm:YAP laser with watt-level output power

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Su; Zhang, Xinlu; Huang, Jinjer; Wang, Tianhan; Dai, Junfeng; Dong, Guangzong

2018-03-01

We report on a high power continuous wave (CW) self-mode-locked Tm:YAP laser pumped by a 792 nm laser diode. Without any additional mode-locking elements in the cavity, stable and self-starting mode-locking operation has been realized. The threshold pump power of the CW self-mode-locked Tm:YAP laser is only 5.4 W. The maximum average output power is as high as 1.65 W at the pump power of 12 W, with the repetition frequency of 468 MHz and the center wavelength of 1943 nm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first CW self-mode-locked Tm:YAP laser. The experiment results show that the Tm:YAP crystal is a promising gain medium for realizing the high power self-mode-locking operation at 2 µm.

Efficient, high power, Q-switched Nd:YLF slab laser end-pumped by diode stack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hengli; Li, Daijun; Shi, Peng; Diart, Rober; Shell, Alexander; Haas, Claus R.; Du, Keming

2005-06-01

A high power diode stack end-pumped electro-optically Q-switched Nd:YLF slab laser with a stable and off-axis negative-branch confocal unstable hybrid resonator was demonstrated. By using a cylindrical lens in the stable direction the thermal lens effect was compensated. Pulse energy of 25 mJ was obtained with a pulse width of 22.4 ns at repetition rates of 500 Hz and a conversion efficiency of 22%. The stability was better than 0.8% and the beam propagation M2 factor was about 1.2.

Basic studies on laser-assisted phacoemulsification using diode-pumped Er:YAG laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hausladen, Florian; Wurm, Holger; Stock, Karl

2016-03-01

The aim of this study was to determine the potential of a novel diode-pumped Er:YAG laser for phacoemulsification in basic experimental investigations. An appropriate experimental setup was created, including a translation stage for sample movement, a sample holder, a water spray for sample humidification and a surgical microscope with a CCD camera for video documentation. The analysis of the laser cuts and histological sections was done by light microscopy. As samples porcine eye lenses hardened by formalin were used. In ablation experiments with different spot diameters and radiant powers and a constant repetition rate νr = 200 Hz the maximum ablation depths of (4.346 +/- 0.044) mm have reached at (Ø = 480 μm, Φ = 24.15 W) with a maximum extend of thermal damage of (0.165 +/- 0.030) mm. The average ablation efficiency is 0.241 mm3/J. With a spot diameter of 308 μm the maximum ablation depth is (4.238 +/- 0.040) mm at 24.65 W with a mean ablation efficiency of 0.293 mm3/J. The extend of the thermally damaged region is (0.171 +/- 0.024) mm at this laser power. Using a sapphire cylinder with a diameter of 412 μm (length 38.5 mm) in direct tissue contact with water spray for sample humidification the ablation depth reaches (1.017 +/- 0.074) mm at 4.93 W and (1.840 +/- 0.092) mm at 9.87 W with a mean efficiency of 0.261 mm3/J. A thermal damage zone of (0.064 +/-0.024) mm at 9.87 W was measured. Additionally, at this high power, a progressive contamination and destruction of the cylinder end facet was observed. In conclusion, the investigations show that the diode-pumped Er:YAG laser has considerable potential for cataract surgery.

Design and Synthesis of Network-Forming Triblock Copolymers Using Tapered Block Interfaces

PubMed Central

Kuan, Wei-Fan; Roy, Raghunath; Rong, Lixia; Hsiao, Benjamin S.; Epps, Thomas H.

2012-01-01

We report a strategy for generating novel dual-tapered poly(isoprene-b-isoprene/styrene-b-styrene-b-styrene/methyl methacrylate-b-methyl methacrylate) [P(I-IS-S-SM-M)] triblock copolymers that combines anionic polymerization, atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), and Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition click chemistry. The tapered interfaces between blocks were synthesized via a semi-batch feed using programmable syringe pumps. This strategy allows us to manipulate the transition region between copolymer blocks in triblock copolymers providing control over the interfacial interactions in our nanoscale phase-separated materials independent of molecular weight and block constituents. Additionally, we show the ability to retain a desirous and complex multiply-continuous network structure (alternating gyroid) in our dual-tapered triblock material. PMID:23066522

Auto-locking waveguide amplifier system for lidar and magnetometric applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pouliot, A.; Beica, H. C.; Carew, A.; Vorozcovs, A.; Carlse, G.; Kumarakrishnan, A.

2018-02-01

We describe a compact waveguide amplifier system that is suitable for optically pumping rubidium magnetometers. The system consists of an auto-locking vacuum-sealed external cavity diode laser, a semiconductor tapered amplifier and a pulsing unit based on an acousto-optic modulator. The diode laser utilises optical feedback from an interference filter to narrow the linewidth of an inexpensive laser diode to 500 kHz. This output is scannable over an 8 GHz range (at 780 nm) and can be locked without human intervention to any spectral marker in an expandable library of reference spectra, using the autolocking controller. The tapered amplifier amplifies the output from 50 mW up to 2 W with negligible distortions in the spectral quality. The system can operate at visible and near infrared wavelengths with MHz repetition rates. We demonstrate optical pumping of rubidium vapour with this system for magnetometric applications. The magnetometer detects the differential absorption of two orthogonally polarized components of a linearly polarized probe laser following optical pumping by a circularly polarized pump laser. The differential absorption signal is studied for a range of pulse lengths, pulse amplitudes and DC magnetic fields. Our results suggest that this laser system is suitable for optically pumping spin-exchange free magnetometers.

Diode-Pumped Laser for Lung-Sparing Surgical Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

PubMed

Bölükbas, Servet; Biancosino, Christian; Redwan, Bassam; Eberlein, Michael

2017-06-01

Surgical resection represents one of the essential cornerstones in multimodal treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. In cases of tumor infiltration of the lung, lung-scarifying procedures such as lobectomies or pneumonectomies might be necessary to achieve macroscopic complete resection. However, this increases the morbidity of the patients because it leads to possible delay of the planned chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Innovative surgical techniques are therefore required to enable salvage of the lung parenchyma and optimization of surgical treatment. Here we report our first experience with a diode-pumped neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet laser for parenchyma-sparing lung resection during surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Copyright © 2017 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Diode-pumped continuous-wave and passively Q-switched 1066 nm Nd:GYNbO4 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Yufei; Peng, Zhenfang; He, Ying; Li, Xudong; Yan, Renpeng; Yu, Xin; Zhang, Qingli; Ding, Shoujun; Sun, Dunlu

2017-08-01

A diode-pumped passively Q-switched 1066 nm laser with a novel Nd:Gd0.69Y0.3NbO4 mixed crystal was demonstrated for the first time to the best of our knowledge. In the continuous-wave (CW) operation, optimization selection of output couplers was carried out, and a maximum output power of 2.13 W was obtained when the plane mirror with transmission of 25% was chosen and the absorbed pump power was 10.5 W. The Cr4+:YAG passively Q-switched Nd:Gd0.69Y0.3NbO4 laser performance was investigated. At an absorbed pump power of 10.5 W, using Cr4+:YAG with initial transmission of 80%, the obtained minimum pulse width was 7.2 ns with the pulse repetition rate of 19 kHz. The single pulse energy and peak power were estimated to be 26.7 µJ and 3.7 kW, respectively.

Design of diode-pumped solid-state laser applied in laser fuses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, FangLin; Zhang, YiFei

2005-04-01

The function of laser fuzes which are parts of certain weapon systems is to control the blasting height of warheads. Commonly the battle environment these weapon systems are confronted with is very complicated and the tactical demand for them is very rigor, so laser fuzes equipped for them must fulfill some special technical requirements, such as high repetition rate, long ranging scope, etc. Lasers are one of key components which constitute fuze systems. Whether designed lasers are advanced and reasonable will determine whether laser fuzes can be applied in these weapon systems or not. So we adopt the novel technology of diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) to design lasers applied in fuzes. Nd:YVO4 crystal is accepted as gain material, which has wide absorption band and large absorption efficient for 808nm pumping laser. As warhead's temperature is usually very high, wider absorption band is beneficial to reduce the influence of temperature fluctuation. Passive Q-switching with Cr4+:YAG is used to reduce the power consumption farthest. Design the end-pumped microchip sandwich-architecture to decrease lasers' size and increase the reliability, further it's advantageous to produce short pulses and increase peak power of lasers. The designed DPSSL features small size and weight, high repetition rate and peak power, robustness, etc. The repetition rate is expected to reach 1 kHz; peak power will exceed 300 kW; pulse width is only 5 ns; and divergence angle of laser beams is less than 5 mrad. So DPSSL is suitable for laser fuzes as an emitter.

High-power diode-pumped solid-state lasers for optical space communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koechner, Walter; Burnham, Ralph; Kasinski, Jeff; Bournes, Pat; Dibiase, Don; Le, Khoa; Marshall, Larry; Hays, Alan

1991-01-01

The design and performance of a large diode-pumped multi-stage Nd:YAG laser system for space and airborne applications will be described. The laser operates at a repetition rate of 40 Hz and produces an output either at 1.064 micron or 532 nm with an average power in the Q-switched mode of 30 W at the fundamental and 20 W at the second harmonic wavelength. The output beam is diffraction limited (TEM 00 mode) and can optionally also be operated in a single longitudinal mode. The output energy ranges from 1.25 Joule/pulse in the free lasing mode, 0.75 Joule in a 17 nsec Q-switched pulse, to 0.5 Joules/pulse at 532 nm. The overall electrical efficiency for the Q-switched second harmonic output is 4.

All-solid-state cw frequency-doubling Nd:YLiF4/LBO blue laser with 4.33 W output power at 454 nm under in-band diode pumping at 880 nm.

PubMed

Lü, Yanfei; Zhang, Xihe; Cheng, Weibo; Xia, Jing

2010-07-20

We generated efficient blue laser output at 454 nm by intracavity frequency doubling of a continuous-wave (cw) diode-pumped Nd:YLiF(4) (Nd:YLF) laser at 908 nm based on the (4)F(3/2)-(4)I(9/2) transition. With 32.8 W of incident pump power at 880 nm and the frequency-doubling crystal LiB(3)O(5), a level as high as 4.33 W of cw output power at 454 nm is achieved, corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 13.2% with respect to the incident pump power. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first blue laser at 454 nm generated by intracavity frequency doubling of a diode-pumped Nd:YLF.

Laser emission from diode-pumped Nd:YAG ceramic waveguide lasers realized by direct femtosecond-laser writing technique.

PubMed

Salamu, Gabriela; Jipa, Florin; Zamfirescu, Marian; Pavel, Nicolaie

2014-03-10

We report on realization of buried waveguides in Nd:YAG ceramic media by direct femtosecond-laser writing technique and investigate the waveguides laser emission characteristics under the pump with fiber-coupled diode lasers. Laser pulses at 1.06 μm with energy of 2.8 mJ for the pump with pulses of 13.1-mJ energy and continuous-wave output power of 0.49 W with overall optical efficiency of 0.13 were obtained from a 100-μm diameter circular cladding waveguide realized in a 0.7-at.% Nd:YAG ceramic. A circular waveguide of 50-μm diameter yielded laser pulses at 1.3 μm with 1.2-mJ energy.

Passive Optical Locking Techniques for Diode Lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Quan

1995-01-01

Most current diode-based nonlinear frequency converters utilize electronic frequency locking techniques. However, this type of locking technique typically involves very complex electronics, and suffers the 'power-drop' problem. This dissertation is devoted to the development of an all-optical passive locking technique that locks the diode laser frequency to the external cavity resonance stably without using any kind of electronic servo. The amplitude noise problem associated with the strong optical locking has been studied. Single-mode operation of a passively locked single-stripe diode with an amplitude stability better than 1% has been achieved. This passive optical locking technique applies to broad-area diodes as well as single-stripe diodes, and can be easily used to generate blue light. A schematic of a milliwatt level blue laser based on the single-stripe diode locking technique has been proposed. A 120 mW 467 nm blue laser has been built using the tapered amplifier locking technique. In addition to diode-based blue lasers, this passive locking technique has applications in nonlinear frequency conversions, resonant spectroscopy, particle counter devices, telecommunications, and medical devices.

Demonstration of a CW diode-pumped Ar metastable laser operating at 4  W.

PubMed

Han, J; Heaven, M C; Moran, P J; Pitz, G A; Guild, E M; Sanderson, C R; Hokr, B

2017-11-15

Optically pumped rare gas lasers are being investigated as potential high-energy, high beam quality systems. The lasing medium consists of rare gas atoms (Rg=Ne, Ar, Kr, or Xe) that have been electric discharge excited to the metastable np 5 (n+1)s P3 2 state. Following optical excitation, helium (He) at pressures of 200-1000 Torr is used as the energy transfer agent to create a population inversion. The primary technical difficulty for this scheme is the discharge production of sufficient Rg* metastables in the presence of >200  Torr of He. In this Letter, we describe a pulsed discharge that yields >10 13   cm -3 Ar* in the presence of He at total pressures up to 750 Torr. Using this discharge, a diode-pumped Ar* laser providing 4.1 W has been demonstrated.

Primary investigations on the potential of a novel diode pumped Er:YAG laser system for bone surgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stock, Karl; Diebolder, Rolf; Hausladen, Florian; Wurm, Holger; Lorenz, Swetlana; Hibst, Raimund

2013-03-01

Flashlamp pumped Er:YAG-lasers are successfully clinically used for both precise soft and hard tissue ablation. As an alternative, actually a novel diode pumped Er:YAG laser system (Pantec Engineering AG) becomes available, with mean laser power up to 15W and pulse repetition rate up to 1kHz. The aim of the presented study is to investigate the effect of this laser system on bone tissue at various irradiation parameters, particular at repetition rates exceeding 100 Hz. For reproducible experiments, firstly an appropriate experimental set-up was realized with a beam delivery and focusing unit, a computer controlled stepper unit with sample holder, and a shutter unit. It allowed to move the sample (1mm- 3mm sawed slices of pig bone) with a defined velocity while irradiation by various laser parameters. A water spray served to moisten the sample surfaces. After irradiation the grooves were analyzed by light microscopy and laser scanning microscopy regarding to the ablation quality, the groove geometry, the ablation efficacy, and the thermal effects. The resulting grooves are slightly cone shaped (groove depth up to 3mm, width about 200μm) with sharp edges at the surface. At 1W, 200Hz, 5mm/s sample movement and with water irrigation the measured ablation speed Δz/Δt is 10.8 mm/s. The ablation depth per pulse is 54μm. In conclusion, these first experiments demonstrate that the diode pumped Er:YAG laser system is an efficient tool for use in bone surgery.

High efficient bone ablation with diode pumped Erbium and Thulium lasers including different delivery fibers: a comparative in vitro study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stock, Karl; Hausladen, Florian; Stegmayer, Thomas; Wurm, Holger

2018-02-01

Er:YAG lasers (3μm) allow efficient bone ablation caused by the strong absorption in water. Unfortunately, there are only a few and comparable expensive fiber materials for this wavelength available which are suitable for high laser power. The bone ablation efficiency of the Tm:YAG laser is minor (2μm) but inexpensive silica fibers can be used. The aim of this study was to investigate the bone ablation, using novel diode pumped high power Er:YAG (laser power 40W) and Tm:YAG laser system (60W) and adaptive fiber delivery systems. Expected advantage of these lasers is the longer lifetime of the fibers because of the high repetition rate and low pulse energy compared to the flash lamp pumped laser systems. The bare fiber output ends of a sapphire fiber (Er:YAG laser) and of a silica fiber (Tm:YAG laser) were attached under water and a water filled container including the fixed sample (bovine bone slices) was moved by a computer controlled translation stage. In a second set-up we provided a focusing unit and appropriate water spray unit. The generated cut kerfs were analyzed by light microcopy and laser scanning microscopy. The results show that with the diode pumped Er:YAG laser and sapphire fiber a particular high efficient bone ablation (> 0.16mm2/J) is possible both with bare fiber under water and focusing unit with water spray. The higher power of the Tm:YAG laser also results in high ablation rates but causes enlarged thermal damages. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that efficient bone ablation is possible with both diode pumped laser systems. In terms of efficiency the Er:YAG laser is outstanding. The Tm:YAG laser also allows fast bone ablation, provided that the thermal impact is limited by effective cooling and high movement velocity of the laser spot, for example by using an automatic scanner.

High-power diode laser bars as pump sources for fiber lasers and amplifiers (Invited Paper)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonati, G.; Hennig, P.; Wolff, D.; Voelckel, H.; Gabler, T.; Krause, U.; T'nnermann, A.; Reich, M.; Limpert, J.; Werner, E.; Liem, A.

2005-04-01

Fiber lasers are pumped by fibercoupled, multimode single chip devices at 915nm. That"s what everybody assumes when asked for the type of fiber laser pumps and it was like this for many years. Coming up as an amplifier for telecom applications, the amount of pump power needed was in the range of several watts. Highest pump powers for a limited market entered the ten watts range. This is a range of power that can be covered by highly reliable multimode chips, that have to survive up to 25 years, e.g. in submarine applications. With fiber lasers entering the power range and the application fields of rod and thin disc lasers, the amount of pump power needed raised into the area of several hundred watts. In this area of pump power, usually bar based pumps are used. This is due to the much higher cost pressure of the industrial customers compared to telecom customers. We expect more then 70% of all industrial systems to be pumped by diode laser bars. Predictions that bar based pumps survive for just a thousand hours in cw-operation and fractions of this if pulsed are wrong. Bar based pumps have to perform on full power for 10.000h on Micro channel heat sinks and 20.000h on passive heatsinks in industrial applications, and they do. We will show a variety of data, "real" long time tests and statistics from the JENOPTIK Laserdiode as well as data of thousands of bars in the field, showing that bar based pumps are not just well suitable for industrial applications on high power levels, but even showing benefits compared to chip based pumps. And it"s reasonable, that the same objectives of cost effectiveness, power and lifetime apply as well to thin disc, rod and slab lasers as to fiber lasers. Due to the pumping of fiber lasers, examples will be shown, how to utilize bars for high brightness fiber coupling. In this area, the automation is on its way to reduce the costs on the fibercoupling, similar to what had been done in the single chip business. All these efforts are

Efficient Ho:LuLiF4 laser diode-pumped at 1.15 μm.

PubMed

Wang, Sheng-Li; Huang, Chong-Yuan; Zhao, Cheng-Chun; Li, Hong-Qiang; Tang, Yu-Long; Yang, Nan; Zhang, Shuai-Yi; Hang, Yin; Xu, Jian-Qiu

2013-07-15

We report the first laser operation based on Ho(3+)-doped LuLiF(4) single crystal, which is directly pumped with 1.15-μm laser diode (LD). Based on the numerical model, it is found that the "two-for-one" effect induced by the cross-relaxation plays an important role for the laser efficiency. The maximum continuous wave (CW) output power of 1.4 W is produced with a beam propagation factor of M(2) ~2 at the lasing wavelength of 2.066 μm. The slope efficiency of 29% with respect to absorbed power is obtained.

Hemangiomas

MedlinePlus

... grow. The flash-lamp pulse dye, pump dye, diode, and sclero-laser are the primary lasers used ... go through several trials of dosing-tapering. The current protocol is to put them on the initial ...

Model calculations of kinetic and fluid dynamic processes in diode pumped alkali lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barmashenko, Boris D.; Rosenwaks, Salman; Waichman, Karol

2013-10-01

Kinetic and fluid dynamic processes in diode pumped alkali lasers (DPALs) are analyzed in detail using a semianalytical model, applicable to both static and flowing-gas devices. The model takes into account effects of temperature rise, excitation of neutral alkali atoms to high lying electronic states and their losses due to ionization and chemical reactions, resulting in a decrease of the pump absorption, slope efficiency and lasing power. Effects of natural convection in static DPALs are also taken into account. The model is applied to Cs DPALs and the results are in good agreement with measurements in a static [B.V. Zhdanov, J. Sell and R.J. Knize, Electron. Lett. 44, 582 (2008)] and 1-kW flowing-gas [A.V. Bogachev et al., Quantum Electron. 42, 95 (2012)] DPALs. It predicts the dependence of power on the flow velocity in flowing-gas DPALs and on the buffer gas composition. The maximum values of the laser power can be substantially increased by optimization of the flowing-gas DPAL parameters. In particular for the aforementioned 1 kW DPAL, 6 kW maximum power is achievable just by increasing the pump power and the temperature of the wall and the gas at the flow inlet (resulting in increase of the alkali saturated vapor density). Dependence of the lasing power on the pump power is non-monotonic: the power first increases, achieves its maximum and then decreases. The decrease of the lasing power with increasing pump power at large values of the latter is due to the rise of the aforementioned losses of the alkali atoms as a result of ionization. Work in progress applying two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics modeling of flowing-gas DPALs is also reported.

Thermal effect of diode-pumped solid state lasers based on composite crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Ming-ming; Lu, Guo-guang; Zhu, Hong-bo; Huang, Yun; En, Yun-fei

2013-12-01

Thermal effect of diode-pumped solid-state lasers (DPSSL) based on YAP/Tm:YAP composite crystal is studied by using of finite element method (FEM). It is found that the peak temperature in a composite rod decreases to less than 80% of that in a non-composite crystal. Thermal stress of composite rod is obviously reduced to less than 70% comparing with non-composite crystal. It is also demonstrated that length of thermal lens unchanged with increasing of un-doped crystal length, which means that beam quality of composite laser wouldn't be improved by non-composite crystal. Therefore, it is concluded that using composite crystal would benefit for the properties of temperature and heat stress while insignificance for beam quality of DPSSL.

High-power narrow-linewidth quasi-CW diode-pumped TEM00 1064 nm Nd:YAG ring laser.

PubMed

Liu, Yuan; Wang, Bao-shan; Xie, Shi-yong; Bo, Yong; Wang, Peng-yuan; Zuo, Jun-wei; Xu, Yi-ting; Xu, Jia-lin; Peng, Qin-jun; Cui, Da-fu; Xu, Zu-yan

2012-04-01

We demonstrated a high average power, narrow-linewidth, quasi-CW diode-pumped Nd:YAG 1064 nm laser with near-diffraction-limited beam quality. A symmetrical three-mirror ring cavity with unidirectional operation elements and an etalon was employed to realize the narrow-linewidth laser output. Two highly efficient laser modules and a 90° quartz rotator for birefringence compensation were used for the high output power. The maximum average output power of 62.5 W with the beam quality factor M(2) of 1.15 was achieved under a pump power of 216 W at a repetition rate of 500 Hz, corresponding to the optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 28.9%. The linewidth of the laser at the maximum output power was measured to be less than 0.2 GHz.

Tunable diode laser-pumped Tm,Ho:YLF laser operated in continuous-wave and Q-switched modes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcguckin, B. T.; Hemmati, H.; Menzies, R. T.

1992-01-01

Tunable continuous-wave and pulsed laser output was obtained from a Tm-sensitized Ho:YLiF4 crystal at subambient temperatures when longitudinally pumped with a diode laser array. A conversion efficiency of 42 percent and slope efficiency of approximately 60 percent relative to the absorbed pumped power have been achieved at a crystal temperature of 275 K. The emission spectrum was etalon tunable over a range of 16/cm centered at 2067 nm with fine tuning capability of the transition frequency with crystal temperature at measured rate of -0.03/cm/K. Output energies of 0.22 mJ per pulse and 22 ns pulse duration were recorded at Q-switch frequencies that correspond to an effective upper laser level lifetime of 6 ms, and a pulse energy extraction efficiency of 64 percent.

Activation of theMercury Laser System: A Diode-Pumped Solid-State Laser Driver for Inertial Fusion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bayramian, A J; Beach, R J; Bibeau, C

Initial measurements are reported for the Mercury laser system, a scalable driver for rep-rated inertial fusion energy. The performance goals include 10% electrical efficiency at 10 Hz and 100 J with a 2-10 ns pulse length. We report on the first Yb:S-FAP crystals grown to sufficient size for fabricating full size (4 x 6 cm) amplifier slabs. The first of four 160 kW (peak power) diode arrays and pump delivery systems were completed and tested with the following results: 5.5% power droop over a 0.75 ms pulse, 3.95 nm spectral linewidth, far field divergence of 14.0 mrad and 149.5 mradmore » in the microlensed and unmicrolensed directions respectively, and 83% optical-to-optical transfer efficiency through the pump delivery system.« less

Compact and highly efficient laser pump cavity

DOEpatents

Chang, Jim J.; Bass, Isaac L.; Zapata, Luis E.

1999-01-01

A new, compact, side-pumped laser pump cavity design which uses non-conventional optics for injection of laser-diode light into a laser pump chamber includes a plurality of elongated light concentration channels. In one embodiment, the light concentration channels are compound parabolic concentrators (CPC) which have very small exit apertures so that light will not escape from the pumping chamber and will be multiply reflected through the laser rod. This new design effectively traps the pump radiation inside the pump chamber that encloses the laser rod. It enables more uniform laser pumping and highly effective recycle of pump radiation, leading to significantly improved laser performance. This new design also effectively widens the acceptable radiation wavelength of the diodes, resulting in a more reliable laser performance with lower cost.

Compact diode-pumped continuous-wave and passively Q-switched Nd:GYSO laser at 1.07 μm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Zhi; Huang, Xiaoxu; Lan, Jinglong; Cui, Shengwei; Wang, Yi; Xu, Bin; Luo, Zhengqian; Xu, Huiying; Cai, Zhiping; Xu, Xiaodong; Zhang, Xiaoyan; Wang, Jun; Xu, Jun

2016-08-01

We report diode-pumped continuous-wave (CW) and Q-switched Nd:GYSO lasers using a compact two-mirror linear laser cavity. Single-wavelength laser emissions at 1074.11 nm with 4.1-W power and at 1058.27 nm with 1.47-W power have been obtained in CW mode. The slope efficiencies with respect to the absorbed pump powers are 48.5% and 22.9%, respectively. Wavelength tunability is also demonstrated with range of about 8 nm. Using a MoS2 saturable absorber, maximum average output power up to 410 mW at 1074 nm can be yielded with absorbed pump power 6.41 W and the maximum pulse energy reaches 1.20 μJ with pulse repetition rate of 342.5 kHz and shortest pulse width of 810 ns. The CW laser results represent the best laser performance and the Q-switching also present the highest output power for Q-switched Nd3+ lasers with MoS2 as saturable absorber.

Diode end pumped laser and harmonic generator using same

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byer, Robert L. (Inventor); Dixon, George J. (Inventor); Kane, Thomas J. (Inventor)

1988-01-01

A second harmonic, optical generator is disclosed in which a laser diode produces an output pumping beam which is focused by means of a graded, refractive index rod lens into a rod of lasant material, such as Nd:YAG, disposed within an optical resonator to pump the lasant material and to excite the optical resonator at a fundamental wavelength. A non-linear electro-optic material such as MgO:LiNbO.sub.3 is coupled to the excited, fundamental mode of the optical resonator to produce a non-linear interaction with the fundamental wavelength producing a harmonic. In one embodiment, the gain medium and the non-linear material are disposed within an optical resonator defined by a pair of reflectors, one of which is formed on a face of the gain medium and the second of which is formed on a face of the non-linear medium. In another embodiment, the non-linear, electro-optic material is doped with the lasant ion such that the gain medium and the non-linear doubling material are co-extensive in volume. In another embodiment, a non-linear, doubling material is disposed in an optical resonator external of the laser gai medium for improved stability of the second harmonic generation process. In another embodiment, the laser gain medium andthe non-linear material are bonded together by means of an optically transparent cement to form a mechanically stable, monolithic structure. In another embodiment, the non-linear material has reflective faces formed thereon to define a ring resonator to decouple reflections from the non-linear medium back to the gain medium for improved stability.

Mid-infrared supercontinuum generation spanning from 1.9 to 5.7 μm in a chalcogenide fiber taper with ultra-high NA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yingying; Dai, Shixun; Peng, Xuefeng; Zhang, Peiqing; Wang, Xunsi; You, Chenyang

2018-01-01

We report a broadband supercontinuum generation in a chalcogenide fiber taper with an ultra-high numerical aperture. The chalcogenide step-index fiber consisting of As2Se3 core and As2S3 cladding was fabricated by using the isolated stacked extrusion method. The fiber taper with a core diameter of 1.75 μm was prepared by employing a homemade tapering setup. By pumping the fiber taper with a femtosecond laser pulses at 3.3 μm, a broadband supercontinuum generation spanning from 1.9 to 5.7 μm was achieved.

Development of As-Se tapered suspended-core fibers for ultra-broadband mid-IR wavelength conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anashkina, E. A.; Shiryaev, V. S.; Koptev, M. Y.; Stepanov, B. S.; Muravyev, S. V.

2018-01-01

We designed and developed tapered suspended-core fibers of high-purity As39Se61 glass for supercontinuum generation in the mid-IR with a standard fiber laser pump source at 2 ${\\mu}$m. It was shown that microstructuring allows shifting a zero dispersion wavelength to the range shorter than 2 ${\\mu}$m in the fiber waist with a core diameter of about 1 ${\\mu}$m. In this case, supercontinuum generation in the 1-10 ${\\mu}$m range was obtained numerically with 150-fs 100-pJ pump pulses at 2 ${\\mu}$m. We also performed experiments on wavelength conversion of ultrashort optical pulses at 1.57 ${\\mu}$m from Er: fiber laser system in the manufactured As-Se tapered fibers. The measured broadening spectra were in a good agreement with the ones simulated numerically.

Vibration-Assisted Femtosecond Laser Drilling with Controllable Taper Angles for AMOLED Fine Metal Mask Fabrication.

PubMed

Choi, Wonsuk; Kim, Hoon Young; Jeon, Jin Woo; Chang, Won Seok; Cho, Sung-Hak

2017-02-21

This study investigates the effect of focal plane variation using vibration in a femtosecond laser hole drilling process on Invar alloy fabrication quality for the production of fine metal masks (FMMs). FMMs are used in the red, green, blue (RGB) evaporation process in Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode (AMOLED) manufacturing. The taper angle of the hole is adjusted by attaching the objective lens to a micro-vibrator and continuously changing the focal plane position. Eight laser pulses were used to examine how the hole characteristics vary with the first focal plane's position, where the first pulse is focused at an initial position and the focal planes of subsequent pulses move downward. The results showed that the hole taper angle can be controlled by varying the amplitude of the continuously operating vibrator during femtosecond laser hole machining. The taper angles were changed between 31.8° and 43.9° by adjusting the vibrator amplitude at a frequency of 100 Hz. Femtosecond laser hole drilling with controllable taper angles is expected to be used in the precision micro-machining of various smart devices.

Selective removal of natural caries lesions from dentin and tooth occlusal surfaces using a diode-pumped Er:YAG laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jew, Jamison; Chan, Kenneth H.; Darling, Cynthia L.; Fried, Daniel

2017-02-01

Selective removal of caries lesions with high precision is best accomplished using lasers operating at high pulse repetition rates utilizing small spot sizes. Conventional flash-lamp pumped Er:YAG lasers are poorly suited for this purpose, but new diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) Er:YAG lasers have become available operating at high pulse repetition rates. Microradiography was used to determine the mineral content of the demineralized dentin of 200-μm thick sections with natural caries lesions prior to laser ablation. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of a DPSS Er:YAG laser for the selective removal of demineralized dentin and natural occlusal lesions on extracted teeth.

Diode-pumped microchip Tm:KLu(WO₄)₂ laser with more than 3 W of output power.

PubMed

Serres, Josep Maria; Mateos, Xavier; Loiko, Pavel; Yumashev, Konstantin; Kuleshov, Nikolai; Petrov, Valentin; Griebner, Uwe; Aguiló, Magdalena; Díaz, Francesc

2014-07-15

A diode-pumped microchip laser containing a quasi-monolithic plano-plano cavity is realized on the basis of a Tm:KLu(WO₄)₂ crystal. The maximum CW output power is 3.2 W (at an absorbed pump power of 6.8 W) and the slope efficiency as high as 50.4%. The laser is operating at 1946 nm in the TEM₀₀ mode with a M²<1.05. Microchip operation with Tm:KLu(WO₄)₂ is, in principle, due to a special crystal cut along the N(g) optical indicatrix axis. This crystal cut possesses positive near-spherical thermal lens that provides the required mode stabilization in the plano-plano cavity. Sensitivity factors of the thermal lens, "generalized" thermo-optic coefficients and constants describing the photoelastic effect are determined for the monolithic Tm:KLu(WO₄)₂ crystal.

2.07-micron CW diode-laser-pumped Tm,Ho:YLiF4 room-temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hemmati, Hamid

1989-01-01

Continuous-wave action is obtained at 2.07 microns from a 2-mm-long Tm-sensitized Ho:YLiF4 crystal at room temperature when longitudinally pumped by a pair of diode-laser arrays. Laser output power at 300 K is 26 mW, with a 30-percent slope efficiency and a lasing threshold of 108 mW. A maximum output power of 187 mW is obtained from a 4-mm-long crystal at 77 K, with a 67 percent slope efficiency. A preliminary demonstration of cavity Q switching produced 165 microJ of pulse energy at a repetition rate of 100 Hz.

Micro-Welding of Copper Plate by Frequency Doubled Diode Pumped Pulsed Nd:YAG Laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakashiba, Shin-Ichi; Okamoto, Yasuhiro; Sakagawa, Tomokazu; Takai, Sunao; Okada, Akira

A pulsed laser of 532 nm wavelength with ms range pulse duration was newly developed by second harmonic generation of diode pumped pulsed Nd:YAG laser. High electro-optical conversion efficiency more than 13% could be achieved, and 1.5 kW peak power green laser pulse was put in optical fiber of 100 μm in diameter. In micro- welding of 1.0 mm thickness copper plate, a keyhole welding was successfully performed by 1.0 kW peak power at spot diameter less than 200 μm. The frequency doubled pulsed laser improved the processing efficiency of copper welding, and narrow and deep weld bead was stably obtained.

High power eye-safe Er3+:YVO4 laser diode-pumped at 976 nm and emitting at 1603 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newburgh, G. A.; Dubinskii, M.

2016-02-01

We report on the performance of an eye-safe laser based on a Er:YVO4 single crystal, diode-pumped at 976 nm (4I15/2-->4I11/2 transition) and operating at 1603 nm (4I13/2-->4I15/2 transition) with good beam quality. A 10 mm long Er3+:YVO4 slab, cut with its c-axis perpendicular to the laser cavity axis, was pumped in σ-polarization and lased in π-polarization. The laser operated in a quasi-continuous wave (Q-CW) regime with nearly 9 W output power, and with a slope efficiency of about 39% with respect to absorbed power. This is believed to be the highest efficiency and highest power achieved from an Er3+:YVO4 laser pumped in the 970-980 nm absorption band.

Compact high-efficiency 100-W-level diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG laser with linearly polarized TEM00 mode output.

PubMed

Xu, Yi-Ting; Xu, Jia-Lin; Guo, Ya-Ding; Yang, Feng-Tu; Chen, Yan-Zhong; Xu, Jian; Xie, Shi-Yong; Bo, Yong; Peng, Qin-Jun; Cui, Dafu; Xu, Zu-Yan

2010-08-20

We present a compact high-efficiency and high-average-power diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG rod laser oscillator operated with a linearly polarized fundamental mode. The oscillator resonator is based on an L-shaped convex-convex cavity with an improved module and a dual-rod configuration for birefringence compensation. Under a pump power of 344 W, a linearly polarized average output power of 101.4 W at 1064 nm is obtained, which corresponds to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 29.4%. The laser is operated at a repetition rate of 400 Hz with a beam quality factor of M(2)=1.14. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest optical-to-optical efficiency for a side-pumped TEM(00) Nd:YAG rod laser oscillator with a 100-W-level output ever reported.

Coherent combining of high brightness tapered lasers in master oscillator power amplifier configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albrodt, P.; Hanna, M.; Moron, F.; Decker, J.; Winterfeldt, M.; Blume, G.; Erbert, G.; Crump, P.; Georges, P.; Lucas-Leclin, G.

2018-02-01

Improved diode laser beam combining techniques are in strong demand for applications in material processing. Coherent beam combining (CBC) is the only combining approach that has the potential to maintain or even improve all laser properties, and thus has high potential for future systems. As part of our ongoing studies into CBC of diode lasers, we present recent progress in the coherent superposition of high-power single-pass tapered laser amplifiers. The amplifiers are seeded by a DFB laser at λ = 976 nm, where the seed is injected into a laterally single-mode ridge-waveguide input section. The phase pistons on each beam are actively controlled by varying the current in the ridge section of each amplifier, using a sequential hill-climbing algorithm, resulting in a combined beam with power fluctuations of below 1%. The currents into the tapered sections of the amplifiers are separately controlled, and remain constant. In contrast to our previous studies, we favour a limited number of individual high-power amplifiers, in order to preserve a high extracted power per emitter in a simple, low-loss coupling arrangement. Specifically, a multi-arm interferometer architecture with only three devices is used, constructed using 6 mm-long tapered amplifiers, mounted junction up on C-mounts, to allow separate contact to single mode and amplifier sections. A maximum coherently combined power of 12.9 W is demonstrated in a nearly diffraction-limited beam, corresponding to a 65% combining efficiency, with power mainly limited by the intrinsic beam quality of the amplifiers. Further increased combined power is currently sought.

Tapered Glass-Fiber Microspike: High-Q Flexural Wave Resonator and Optically Driven Knudsen Pump.

PubMed

Pennetta, Riccardo; Xie, Shangran; Russell, Philip St J

2016-12-30

Appropriately designed optomechanical devices are ideal for making ultra-sensitive measurements. Here we report a fused-silica microspike that supports a flexural resonance with a quality factor greater than 100 000 at room temperature in vacuum. Fashioned by tapering single-mode fiber (SMF), it is designed so that the core-guided optical mode in the SMF evolves adiabatically into the fundamental mode of the air-glass waveguide at the tip. The very narrow mechanical linewidth (20 mHz) makes it possible to measure extremely small changes in resonant frequency. In a vacuum chamber at low pressure, the weak optical absorption of the glass is sufficient to create a temperature gradient along the microspike, which causes it to act as a microscopic Knudsen pump, driving a flow of gas molecules towards the tip where the temperature is highest. The result is a circulating molecular flow within the chamber. Momentum exchange between the vibrating microspike and the flowing molecules causes an additional restoring force that can be measured as a tiny shift in the resonant frequency. The effect is strongest when the mean free path of the gas molecules is comparable with the dimensions of the vacuum chamber. The system offers a novel means of monitoring the behavior of weakly absorbing optomechanical sensors operating in vacuum.

CW and femtosecond operation of a diode-pumped Yb:BaY(2)F(8) laser.

PubMed

Galzerano, G; Coluccelli, N; Gatti, D; Di Lieto, A; Tonelli, M; Laporta, P

2010-03-15

We report for the first time on laser action of a diode-pumped Yb:BaY(2)F(8) crystal. Both CW and femtosecond operations have been demonstrated at room-temperature conditions. A maximum output power of 0.56 W, a slope efficiency of 34%, and a tunability range from 1013 to 1067 nm have been obtained in CW regime. Transform-limited pulse trains with a minimum duration of 275 fs, an average power of 40 mW, and a repetition rate of 83 MHz have been achieved in a passive mode-locked regime using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror.

kW-class direct diode laser for sheet metal cutting based on commercial pump modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Witte, U.; Schneider, F.; Holly, C.; Di Meo, A.; Rubel, D.; Boergmann, F.; Traub, M.; Hoffmann, D.; Drovs, S.; Brand, T.; Unger, A.

2017-02-01

We present a direct diode laser with an optical output power of more than 800 W ex 100 μm with an NA of 0.17. The system is based on 6 commercial pump modules that are wavelength stabilized by use of VBGs. Dielectric filters are used for coarse and dense wavelength multiplexing. Metal sheet cutting tests were performed in order to prove system performance and reliability. Based on a detailed analysis of loss mechanisms, we show that the design can be easily scaled to output powers in the range of 2 kW and to an optical efficiency of 80%.

Quasi-three level Nd:YLF fundamental and Raman laser operating under 872-nm and 880-nm direct diode pumping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wetter, Niklaus U.; Bereczki, Allan; Paes, João. Pedro Fonseca

2018-02-01

Nd:YLiF4 is the gain material of choice whenever outstanding beam quality or a birefringent gain material is necessary such as in certain applications for terahertz radiation or dual-frequency mode-locking. However, for high power CW applications the material is hampered by a low thermal fracture threshold. This problem can be mitigated by special 2D pump set-ups or by keeping the quantum defect to a minimum. Direct pumping into the upper laser level of Nd:YLiF4 is usually performed at 880 nm. For quasi-three level laser emission at 908 nm, direct pumping at this wavelength provides a high quantum defect of 0.97, which allows for very high CW pump powers. Although the direct pumping transition to the upper laser state at 872 nm has a slightly smaller quantum defect of 0.96, its pump absorption cross section along the c-axis is 50% higher than at 880 nm, leading to a higher absorption efficiency. In this work we explore, for the first time to our knowledge, 908 nm lasing under 872 nm diode pumping and compare the results with 880 nm pumping for quasicw and cw operation. By inserting a KGW crystal in the cavity, Raman lines at 990 nm and 972 nm were obtained for the first time from a directly pumped 908 nm Nd:YLF fundamental laser for both quasi-cw and cw conditions.

Power and efficiency scaling of diode pumped Cr:LiSAF lasers: 770-1110 nm tuning range and frequency doubling to 387-463 nm.

PubMed

Demirbas, Umit; Baali, Ilyes

2015-10-15

We report significant average power and efficiency scaling of diode-pumped Cr:LiSAF lasers in continuous-wave (cw), cw frequency-doubled, and mode-locked regimes. Four single-emitter broad-area laser diodes around 660 nm were used as the pump source, which provided a total pump power of 7.2 W. To minimize thermal effects, a 20 mm long Cr:LiSAF sample with a relatively low Cr-concentration (0.8%) was used as the gain medium. In cw laser experiments, 2.4 W of output power, a slope efficiency of 50%, and a tuning range covering the 770-1110 nm region were achieved. Intracavity frequency doubling with beta-barium borate (BBO) crystals generated up to 1160 mW of blue power and a record tuning range in the 387-463 nm region. When mode locked with a saturable absorber mirror, the laser produced 195 fs pulses with 580 mW of average power around 820 nm at a 100.3 MHz repetition rate. The optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of the system was 33% in cw, 16% in cw frequency-doubled, and 8% in cw mode-locked regimes.

Power scaling of laser diode pumped Pr3+:LiYF4 cw lasers: efficient laser operation at 522.6 nm, 545.9 nm, 607.2 nm, and 639.5 nm.

PubMed

Gün, Teoman; Metz, Philip; Huber, Günter

2011-03-15

We report efficient cw laser operation of laser diode pumped Pr(3+)-doped LiYF4 crystals in the visible spectral region. Using two InGaN laser diodes emitting at λ(P)=443.9 nm with maximum output power of 1 W each and a 2.9-mm-long crystal with a doping concentration of 0.5%, output powers of 938 mW, 418 mW, 384 mW, and 773 mW were achieved for the laser wavelengths 639.5 nm, 607.2 nm, 545.9 nm, and 522.6 nm, respectively. The maximum absorbed pump powers were approximately 1.5 W, resulting in slope efficiencies of 63.6%, 32.0%, 52.1%, and 61.5%, as well as electro-optical efficiencies of 9.4%, 4.2%, 3.8%, and 7.7%, respectively. Within these experiments, laser diode-pumped laser action at 545.9 nm was demonstrated for what is believed to be the first time.

Laminated electromagnetic pump stator core

DOEpatents

Fanning, A.W.

1995-08-08

A stator core for an electromagnetic pump includes a plurality of circumferentially abutting tapered laminations extending radially outwardly from a centerline axis to collectively define a radially inner bore and a radially outer circumference. Each of the laminations includes radially inner and outer edges and has a thickness increasing from the inner edge toward the outer edge to provide a substantially continuous path adjacent the circumference. This pump is used in nuclear fission reactors. 19 figs.

Optimised design for a 1 kJ diode-pumped solid-state laser system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mason, Paul D.; Ertel, Klaus; Banerjee, Saumyabrata; Phillips, P. Jonathan; Hernandez-Gomez, Cristina; Collier, John L.

2011-06-01

A conceptual design for a kJ-class diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) system based on cryogenic gas-cooled multislab ceramic Yb:YAG amplifier technology has been developed at the STFC as a building block towards a MJ-class source for inertial fusion energy (IFE) projects such as HiPER. In this paper, we present an overview of an amplifier design optimised for efficient generation of 1 kJ nanosecond pulses at 10 Hz repetition rate. In order to confirm the viability of this technology, a prototype version of this amplifier scaled to deliver 10 J at 10 Hz, DiPOLE, is under development at the Central Laser Facility. A progress update on the status of this system is also presented.

Energy transfer in Tm,Ho:KYW crystal and diode-pumped microchip laser operation.

PubMed

Kurilchik, Sergey; Gusakova, Natali; Demesh, Maxim; Yasukevich, Anatol; Kisel, Viktor; Pavlyuk, Anatoly; Kuleshov, Nikolai

2016-03-21

An investigation of Tm-Ho energy transfer in Tm(5at.%),Ho(0.4at.%):KYW single crystal by two independent techiques was performed. Based on fluorescence dynamics measurements, energy transfer parameters P₇₁ and P₂₈ for direct (Tm→Ho) and back (Ho→Tm) transfers, respectively, as well as equilibrium constant Θ were evaluated. The obtained results were supported by calculation of microscopic interaction parameters according to the Förster-Dexter theory for a dipole-dipole interaction. Diode-pumped continuous-wave operation of Tm,Ho:KYW microchip laser was demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge. Maximum output power of 77 mW at 2070 nm was achieved at the fundamental TEM₀₀ mode.

Tunable CW diode-pumped Tm,Ho:YLiF4 laser operating at or near room temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcguckin, Brendan T. (Inventor); Menzies, Robert T. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

A conversion efficiency of 42% and slope efficiency of 60% relative to absorbed pump power are obtained from a continuous wave diode-pumped Tm,Ho:YLiF4 laser at 2 microns with output power of 84 mW at a crystal temperature of 275 K. The emission spectrum is etalon tunable over a range of7 nm (16.3/cm) centered on 2.067 microns with fine tuning capability of the transition frequency with crystal temperature at a measured rate of -0.03/(cm)K. The effective emission cross-section is measured to be 5 x 10(exp -21) cm squared. These and other aspects of the laser performance are disclosed in the context of calculated atmospheric absorption characteristics in this spectral region and potential use in remote sensing applications. Single frequency output and frequency stabilization are achieved using an intracavity etalon in conjunction with an external reference etalon.

Wide-field lensless fluorescent microscopy using a tapered fiber-optic faceplate on a chip.

PubMed

Coskun, Ahmet F; Sencan, Ikbal; Su, Ting-Wei; Ozcan, Aydogan

2011-09-07

We demonstrate lensless fluorescent microscopy over a large field-of-view of ~60 mm(2) with a spatial resolution of <4 µm. In this on-chip fluorescent imaging modality, the samples are placed on a fiber-optic faceplate that is tapered such that the density of the fiber-optic waveguides on the top facet is >5 fold larger than the bottom one. Placed on this tapered faceplate, the fluorescent samples are pumped from the side through a glass hemisphere interface. After excitation of the samples, the pump light is rejected through total internal reflection that occurs at the bottom facet of the sample substrate. The fluorescent emission from the sample is then collected by the smaller end of the tapered faceplate and is delivered to an opto-electronic sensor-array to be digitally sampled. Using a compressive sampling algorithm, we decode these raw lensfree images to validate the resolution (<4 µm) of this on-chip fluorescent imaging platform using microparticles as well as labeled Giardia muris cysts. This wide-field lensfree fluorescent microscopy platform, being compact and high-throughput, might provide a valuable tool especially for cytometry, rare cell analysis (involving large area microfluidic systems) as well as for microarray imaging applications.

Diode-pumped dual-wavelength Nd:LSO laser at 1059 and 1067  nm with nearly diffraction-limited beam quality.

PubMed

Huang, Xiaoxu; Lan, Jinglong; Lin, Zhi; Wang, Yi; Xu, Bin; Xu, Huiying; Cai, Zhiping; Xu, Xiaodong; Zhang, Jian; Xu, Jun

2016-04-10

We report a diode-pumped continuous-wave simultaneous dual-wavelength Nd:LSO laser at 1059 and 1067 nm. By employing a specially coated output coupler with relatively high transmissions at high-gain emission lines of 1075 and 1079 nm, the two low-gain emission lines, 1059 and 1067 nm, can be achieved, for the first time to our knowledge, with maximum output power of 1.27 W and slope efficiency of about 29.2%. The output power is only limited by the available pump power. Output beam quality is also measured to be about 1.19 and 1.21 of the beam propagation factors in the x and y directions, respectively.

Transverse diode-pumped neodymium-doped yttrium vanadate laser of simple design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agüero, Mónica B.; Hnilo, Alejandro A.; Kovalsky, Marcelo G.

2010-03-01

The design and performance of an all-solid-state Nd:YVO4 laser, transversely pumped by a single 20-W (at 808 nm) diode with no coupling optics, are presented. The prototype, which is devised to be the source of a micro-LIDAR station, is very simple, easy to align, compact, and stable. The key element is a roof prism as the end mirror of the laser cavity, which is used to symmetrize the effects of the thermal distortion and the inhomogeneity of the population inversion distribution. Typical numbers are 4.2-W cw with a slightly astigmatic (3:2) homogeneous spot and a divergence of 0.5 mrad. The protoype is also tested in the active Q-switching mode, providing pulses 50-ns full width at half maximum (FWHM) at 14 KHz, 3.5 W average. Frequency doubling external to the cavity in a nonoptimized configuration provides 700 mW at 532 nm.

Red and orange laser operation of Pr:KYF4 pumped by a Nd:YAG/LBO laser at 469.1 nm and a InGaN laser diode at 444 nm.

PubMed

Xu, B; Starecki, F; Pabœuf, D; Camy, P; Doualan, J L; Cai, Z P; Braud, A; Moncorgé, R; Goldner, Ph; Bretenaker, F

2013-03-11

We report the basic luminescence properties and the continuous-wave (CW) laser operation of a Pr(3+)-doped KYF(4) single crystal in the Red and Orange spectral regions by using a new pumping scheme. The pump source is an especially developed, compact, slightly tunable and intra-cavity frequency-doubled diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser delivering a CW output power up to about 1.4 W around 469.1 nm. At this pump wavelength, red and orange laser emissions are obtained at about 642.3 and 605.5 nm, with maximum output powers of 11.3 and 1 mW and associated slope efficiencies of 9.3% and 3.4%, with respect to absorbed pump powers, respectively. For comparison, the Pr:KYF(4) crystal is also pumped by a InGaN blue laser diode operating around 444 nm. In this case, the same red and orange lasers are obtained, but with maximum output powers of 7.8 and 2 mW and the associated slope efficiencies of 7 and 5.8%, respectively. Wavelength tuning for the two lasers is demonstrated by slightly tilting the crystal. Orange laser operation and laser wavelength tuning are reported for the first time.

Every Good Virtue You Ever Wanted in a Q-switched Solid-state Laser and More: Monolithic, Diode-pumped, Self-q-switched, Highly Reproducible, Diffraction-limited Nd:yag Laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Y. C.; Lee, K. K.

1993-01-01

The applications of Q-switched lasers are well known, for example, laser radar, laser remote sensing, satellite orbit determination, Moon orbit and 'moon quake' determination, satellite laser communication, and many nonlinear optics applications. Most of the applications require additional properties of the Q-switched lasers, such as single-axial and/or single-transverse mode, high repetition rate, stable pulse shape and pulse width, or ultra compact and rugged oscillators. Furthermore, space based and airborne lasers for lidar and laser communication applications require efficient, compact, lightweight, long-lived, and stable-pulsed laser sources. Diode-pumped solid-state lasers (DPSSL) have recently shown the potential for satisfying all of these requirements. We will report on the operating characteristics of a diode-pumped, monolithic, self-Q-switched Cr,Nd:YAG laser where the chromium ions act as a saturable absorber for the laser emission at 1064 nm. The pulse duration is 3.5 ns and the output is highly polarized with an extinction ratio of 700:1. It is further shown that the output is single-longitudinal-mode with transform-limited spectral line width without pulse-to-pulse mode competition. Consequently, the pulse-to-pulse intensity fluctuation is less than the instrument resolution of 0.25 percent. This self-stabilization mechanism is because the lasing mode bleaches the distributed absorber and establishes a gain-loss grating similar to that used in the distributed feedback semiconductor lasers. A repetition rate above 5 KHz has also been demonstrated. For higher power, this laser can be used for injection seeding an amplifier (or amplifier chain) or injection locking of a power oscillator pumped by diode lasers. We will discuss some research directions on the master oscillator for higher output energy per pulse as well as how to scale the output power of the diode-pumped amplifier(s) to multi-kilowatt average power.

Implementation of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser with quick-change output couplers for high-beam quality 1064 or 532 nm wavelength generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chun-Hao; Tsai, Ming-Jong

2009-06-01

A novel diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser system that employs a fixed active laser medium and a pair of quick-change output couplers on a precision linear stage for 1064 or 532 nm wavelength generation is presented. Fixed elements include a rear mirror, an acousto-optical Q-switch, and a diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL). Movable elements for 1064 nm generation include an intra-cavity aperture as a mode selection element (MSE) and an output coupler. Movable elements for 532 nm generation include an intra-cavity frequency conversion with KTP, an intra-cavity aperture as a mode selection element (MSE), and an output coupler. Under stable operating conditions, the 1064 nm configuration produced a beam propagation ratio of 1.18 whereas the 532 nm configuration produced a beam propagation ratio of 1.1, both of which used an intra-cavity MSE with an aperture of 1.2 mm and a length of 5 mm.

Vibration-Assisted Femtosecond Laser Drilling with Controllable Taper Angles for AMOLED Fine Metal Mask Fabrication

PubMed Central

Choi, Wonsuk; Kim, Hoon Young; Jeon, Jin Woo; Chang, Won Seok; Cho, Sung-Hak

2017-01-01

This study investigates the effect of focal plane variation using vibration in a femtosecond laser hole drilling process on Invar alloy fabrication quality for the production of fine metal masks (FMMs). FMMs are used in the red, green, blue (RGB) evaporation process in Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode (AMOLED) manufacturing. The taper angle of the hole is adjusted by attaching the objective lens to a micro-vibrator and continuously changing the focal plane position. Eight laser pulses were used to examine how the hole characteristics vary with the first focal plane’s position, where the first pulse is focused at an initial position and the focal planes of subsequent pulses move downward. The results showed that the hole taper angle can be controlled by varying the amplitude of the continuously operating vibrator during femtosecond laser hole machining. The taper angles were changed between 31.8° and 43.9° by adjusting the vibrator amplitude at a frequency of 100 Hz. Femtosecond laser hole drilling with controllable taper angles is expected to be used in the precision micro-machining of various smart devices. PMID:28772571

Passively mode-locked diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 oscillator operating at an ultralow repetition rate.

PubMed

Papadopoulos, D N; Forget, S; Delaigue, M; Druon, F; Balembois, F; Georges, P

2003-10-01

We demonstrate the operation of an ultralow-repetition-rate, high-peak-power, picosecond diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 passively mode-locked laser oscillator. Repetition rates lower than 1 MHz were achieved with the use of a new design for a multiple-pass cavity and a semiconductor saturable absorber. Long-term stable operation at 1.2 MHz with a pulse duration of 16.3 ps and an average output power of 470 mW, corresponding to 24-kW peak-power pulses, is reported. These are to our knowledge the lowest-repetition-rate high-peak-power pulses ever generated directly from apicosecond laser resonator without cavity dumping.

Performance enhancement of sub-nanosecond diode-pumped passively Q-switched Yb:YAG microchip laser with diamond surface cooling.

PubMed

Zhuang, W Z; Chen, Yi-Fan; Su, K W; Huang, K F; Chen, Y F

2012-09-24

We experimentally confirm that diamond surface cooling can significantly enhance the output performance of a sub-nanosecond diode-end-pumped passively Q-switched Yb:YAG laser. It is found that the pulse energy obtained with diamond cooling is approximately 1.5 times greater than that obtained without diamond cooling, where a Cr(4+):YAG absorber with the initial transmission of 84% is employed. Furthermore, the standard deviation of the pulse amplitude peak-to-peak fluctuation is found to be approximately 3 times lower than that measured without diamond cooling. Under a pump power of 3.9 W, the passively Q-switched Yb:YAG laser can generate a pulse train of 3.3 kHz repetition rate with a pulse energy of 287 μJ and with a pulse width of 650 ps.

Large-area high-power VCSEL pump arrays optimized for high-energy lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chad; Geske, Jonathan; Garrett, Henry; Cardellino, Terri; Talantov, Fedor; Berdin, Glen; Millenheft, David; Renner, Daniel; Klemer, Daniel

2012-06-01

Practical, large-area, high-power diode pumps for one micron (Nd, Yb) as well as eye-safer wavelengths (Er, Tm, Ho) are critical to the success of any high energy diode pumped solid state laser. Diode efficiency, brightness, availability and cost will determine how realizable a fielded high energy diode pumped solid state laser will be. 2-D Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) arrays are uniquely positioned to meet these requirements because of their unique properties, such as low divergence circular output beams, reduced wavelength drift with temperature, scalability to large 2-D arrays through low-cost and high-volume semiconductor photolithographic processes, high reliability, no catastrophic optical damage failure, and radiation and vacuum operation tolerance. Data will be presented on the status of FLIR-EOC's VCSEL pump arrays. Analysis of the key aspects of electrical, thermal and mechanical design that are critical to the design of a VCSEL pump array to achieve high power efficient array performance will be presented.

Self-compensation of thermal lens in high-power diode pumped solid-state lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiao-Jun

2010-02-01

We present a comprehensive model to describe the optic-thermal coupling in the diode pumped solid-state lasers (DPSSL). The thermal transition of particles at the upper laser level leads the heat-generation of laser crystals to depend on shape of the laser beam, while the laser field is also influenced by the temperature because of the thermal excitation of doped particles among various Stark levels. These effects, together with the usual thermal-optic effect that induces a fluctuation of the refraction index by an inhomogeneous temperature distribution, cause a complicated coupling between the laser field and the temperature field. We show that the optic-thermal coupling plays an important role in high-power DPSSL with larger size beam. That effect may yield a self-compensation for the thermal lens and improve the beam quality.

Tunable CW diode-pumped Tm,Ho:YLiF4 laser operating at or near room temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcguckin, Brendan T. (Inventor); Menzies, Robert T. (Inventor)

1993-01-01

A conversion efficiency of 42 percent and slope efficiency of 60 percent relative to absorbed pump power are obtained from a continuous wave diode-pumped Tm,Ho:YLiF4 laser at 2 microns with output power of 84mW at a crystal temperature of 275K. The emission spectrum is etalon tunable over a range of 7nm (16.3 cm(sup -1) centered on 2.067 microns with fine tuning capability of the transition frequency with crystal temperature at a measured rate of -0.03/(cm)K. The effective emission cross-section is measured to be 5 x 10(sup -21) cm squared. These and other aspects of the laser performance are disclosed in the context of calculated atmospheric absorption characteristics in this spectral region and potential use in remote sensing applications. Single frequency output and frequency stabilization are achieved using an intracavity etalon in conjunction with an external reference etalon.

About the role of phase matching between a coated microsphere and a tapered fiber: experimental study.

PubMed

Ristić, Davor; Rasoloniaina, Alphonse; Chiappini, Andrea; Féron, Patrice; Pelli, Stefano; Conti, Gualtiero Nunzi; Ivanda, Mile; Righini, Giancarlo C; Cibiel, Gilles; Ferrari, Maurizio

2013-09-09

Coatings of spherical optical microresonators are widely employed for different applications. Here the effect of the thickness of a homogeneous coating layer on the coupling of light from a tapered fiber to a coated microsphere has been studied. Spherical silica microresonators were coated using a 70SiO(2)- 30HfO(2) glass doped with 0.3 mol% Er(3+) ions. The coupling of a 1480 nm pump laser inside the sphere has been assessed using a tapered optical fiber and observing the 1530-1580 nm Er(3+) emission outcoupled to the same tapered fiber. The measurements were done for different coating thicknesses and compared with theoretical calculations to understand the relationship of the detected signal with the whispering gallery mode electric field profiles.

Inelastic tunnel diodes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, L. M. (Inventor)

1984-01-01

Power is extracted from plasmons, photons, or other guided electromagnetic waves at infrared to midultraviolet frequencies by inelastic tunneling in metal-insulator-semiconductor-metal diodes. Inelastic tunneling produces power by absorbing plasmons to pump electrons to higher potential. Specifically, an electron from a semiconductor layer absorbs a plasmon and simultaneously tunnels across an insulator into metal layer which is at higher potential. The diode voltage determines the fraction of energy extracted from the plasmons; any excess is lost to heat.

Two-wavelength, passive self-injection-controlled operation of diode-pumped cw Yb-doped crystal lasers.

PubMed

Louyer, Yann; Wallerand, Jean-Pierre; Himbert, Marc; Deneva, Margarita; Nenchev, Marin

2003-09-20

We demonstrate and investigate a peculiar mode of cw Yb3+-doped crystal laser operation when two emissions, at two independently tunable wavelengths, are simultaneously produced. Both emissions are generated from a single pumped volume and take place in either a single beam or spatially separated beams. The laser employs original two-channel cavities that use a passive self-injection-locking (PSIL) control to reduce intracavity loss. The advantages of the application of the PSIL technique and some limitations are shown. The conditions for two-wavelength multimode operation of the cw quasi-three-level diode-pumped Yb3+ lasers and the peculiarity of such an operation are carried out both theoretically and experimentally. The results reported are based on the example of a Yb3+:GGG laser but similar results are also obtained with a Yb3+:YAG laser. The laser operates in the 1023-1033-nm (1030-1040-nm) range with a total output power of 0.4 W. A two-wavelength, single longitudinal mode generation is also obtained.

Diode-pumped continuous-wave and passively Q-switched Nd:GdLuAG laser at 1443.9 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Qianwen; Liu, Zhaojun; Zhang, Sasa; Cong, Zhenghua; Guan, Chen; Xue, Feng; Chen, Hui; Huang, Qingjie; Xu, Xiaodong; Xu, Jun; Qin, Zengguang

2017-12-01

We investigated the 1443.9 nm laser characteristics of Nd:GdLuAG crystal. Diode-end-pumping configuration was employed under both continuous-wave (CW) and passively Q-switched operations. For CW operation, the maximum average output power was 1.36 W with a slope efficiency of 15%. By using a V3+:YAG crystal as the saturable absorber, we obtained the maximum average output power of 164 mW under Q-switched operation. The corresponding pulse energy was 29.3 μJ and pulse duration was 59 ns.

Parabolic tapers for overmoded waveguides

DOEpatents

Doane, J.L.

1983-11-25

A waveguide taper with a parabolic profile, in which the distance along the taper axis varies as the square of the tapered dimension, provides less mode conversion than equal length linear tapers and is easier to fabricate than other non-linear tapers.

Continuous-wave Nd:YVO4/KTiOPO4 green laser at 542 nm under diode pumping into the emitting level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, J. H.

2012-10-01

We report a green laser at 542 nm generation by intracavity frequency doubling of a continuous wave (CW) laser operation of a 1086 nm Nd:YVO4 laser under 880 nm diode pumping into the emitting level 4 F 3/2. A KTiOPO4 (KTP) crystal, cut for critical type I phase matching at room temperature is used for second harmonic generation of the laser. At an incident pump power of 14.5 W, as high as 1.33 W of CW output power at 542 nm is achieved. The optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is up to 9.2%, and the fluctuation of the green output power was better than 3.8% in the given 30 min.

Investigation on high transmission efficiency 7 × 1 pump combiner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Yang; Shi, Wei; Sheng, Quan; Fu, Shijie; Zhang, Haiwei; Bai, Xiaolei; Qi, Liang; Yao, Jianquan

2016-12-01

The 7×1 end-pumped combiner employing 105/125 μm multimode fibers as pump fibers is investigated. The theoretical analysis reveals that sufficient taper length and low refractive index of the capillary should be adopted to fabricate high transmission efficiency combiners. Based on the simulation results, we fabricate a 7×1 end-pumped pump combiner with an average transmission efficiency of 98.9% and a total return loss of 1.1‰. The measured internal operating temperature of this combiner indicates it can endure pump power of the order of kilowatts.

All-fiber radially/azimuthally polarized lasers based on mode coupling of tapered fibers.

PubMed

Mao, Dong; He, Zhiwen; Lu, Hua; Li, Mingkun; Zhang, Wending; Cui, Xiaoqi; Jiang, Biqiang; Zhao, Jianlin

2018-04-01

We demonstrate a mode converter with an insertion loss of 0.36 dB based on mode coupling of tapered single-mode and two-mode fibers, and realize all-fiber flexible cylindrical vector lasers at 1550 nm. Attributing to the continuous distribution of a tangential electric field at taper boundaries, the laser is switchable between the radially and azimuthally polarized states by adjusting the input polarization. In the temporal domain, the operation is controllable among continuous-wave, Q-switched, and mode-locked statuses by changing the saturable absorber or pump strength. The duration of Q-switched radially/azimuthally polarized laser spans from 10.4/10.8 to 6/6.4 μs at the pump range of 38 to 58 mW, while that of the mode-locked pulse varies from 39.2/31.9 to 5.6/5.2 ps by controlling the laser bandwidth. The proposed laser combines the features of a cylindrical vector beam, a fiber laser, and an ultrafast pulse, providing a special and cost-effective source for practical applications.

Diode-pumped 1.5-1.6 μm laser operation in Er³⁺ doped YbAl₃(BO₃)₄ microchip.

PubMed

Chen, Yujin; Lin, Yanfu; Zou, Yuqi; Huang, Jianhua; Gong, Xinghong; Luo, Zundu; Huang, Yidong

2014-06-02

Er3+ doped YbAl3(BO3)4 crystal with large absorption coefficient of 184 cm(-1) at pump wavelength of 976 nm is a promising microchip gain medium of 1.5-1.6 μm laser. End-pumped by a 976 nm diode laser, 1.5-1.6 μm continuous-wave laser with maximum output power of 220 mW and slope efficiency of 8.1% was obtained at incident pump power of 4.54 W in a c-cut 200-μm-thick Er:YbAl3(BO3)4 microchip. When a Co2+:Mg0.4Al2.4O4 crystal was used as the saturable absorber, 1521 nm passively Q-switched pulse laser with about 0.19 μJ energy, 265 ns duration, and 96 kHz repetition rate was realized.

An Efficient End-Pumped Ho:Tm:YLF Disk Amplifier

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, Ji-Rong; Petros, Mulugeta; Singh, Upendra N.; Barnes, Norman P.

2000-01-01

An efficient diode-pumped, room temperature Ho:Tm:YLF disk amplifier was realized by end-pump configuration. Compared to side pump configuration, about a factor three improvement in system efficiency has been demonstrated.

The study of the thermally expanded core technique in end-pumped (N+1)×1 type combiner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Juan; Sun, Yinhong; Wang, Yanshan; Li, Tenglong; Feng, Yujun; Ma, Yi

2015-02-01

Tapering will raise the signal loss in an end-pumped (N+1)×1 type combiner. In this paper, the Thermally Expanded Core (TEC) technique is used in the signal loss optimization experiment with the tapering ratio of the pump combiner is 0.6. The experimental results indicate that the coupling efficiency of the 1.55μm signal light increases from 81.1% to 86.6%, after being heated 10 minutes at the homo-waist region of the tapered signal fiber with an 8mm wide hydroxygen flame. Detail analysis shows that the TEC technique can both reduce the loss of the LP01 mode and the LP11 mode in the signal fiber.

[The heating effect of the Er3+/Yb3+ doped Y2O3 nanometer powder by 980 nm laser diode pumping].

PubMed

Zheng, Long-Jiang; Gao, Xiao-Yang; Liu, Hai-Long; Li, Bing; Xu, Chen-Xi

2013-01-01

The Er3+ and Yb3+ doped Y2O3 Nano powder was prepared by sol-gel method. Based on 2H11/2 --> 4I15/2 and 4S3/2 --> 4I15/2 green conversion luminescence intensity rate of Er3+, the sample surface temperature changes caused by the increase in 980 nm diode laser pump power were studied. The results show that with pump power increasing, the sample surface temperature substantially rises. And the surface temperature reached to 820 K when the pump power was 1 000 mW. The phenomenon plays an important role in the analysis of upconversion process, especially with saturation power. And this feature has a potential application prospect in the biomedicine, soft tissue hole burning as well as the field of temperature sensing materials.

Quasi-CW Laser Diode Bar Life Tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephen, Mark A.; Krainak, Michael A.; Dallas, Joseph L.

1997-01-01

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is developing technology for satellite-based, high peak power, LIDAR transmitters requiring 3-5 years of reliable operation. Semi-conductor laser diodes provide high efficiency pumping of solid state lasers with the promise of long-lived, reliable operation. 100-watt quasi- CW laser diode bars have been baselined for the next generation laser altimeters. Multi-billion shot lifetimes are required. The authors have monitored the performance of several diodes for billions of shots and investigated operational modes for improving diode lifetime.

885-nm Pumped Ceramic Nd:YAG Master Oscillator Power Amplifier Laser System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, Anthony

2012-01-01

The performance of a traditional diode pumped solid-state laser that is typically pumped with 808-nm laser diode array (LDA) and crystalline Nd:YAG was improved by using 885-nm LDAs and ceramic Nd:YAG. The advantage is lower quantum defect, which will improve the thermal loading on laser gain medium, resulting in a higher-performance laser. The use of ceramic Nd:YAG allows a higher Nd dopant level that will make up the lower absorption at the 885-nm wavelength on Nd:YAG. When compared to traditional 808-nm pump, 885-nm diodes will have 30% less thermal load (or wasted heat) and will thus see a similar percentage improvement in the overall laser efficiency. In order to provide a more efficient laser system for future flight missions that require the use of low-repetition- rate (diodes such as the 885-nm LDA were used for pumping the Nd:YAG laser crystal. This pumping scheme has many potential advantages for improved reliability, efficiency, thermal management, contamination control, and mechanical flexibility. The advantages of using 885-nm pump diodes in Nd:YAG laser systems are numerous. The epitaxial structures of these 885-nm diodes are aluminum-free. There is a significant reduction in the thermal load generated from the Stokes shift or quantum defects. A Stokes shift is the energetic difference between the pump and laser photons. Pumping at a wavelength band closer to the lasing wavelength can reduce the thermal load by .30% compared to traditional pumping at 808 nm, and increase the optical- to-optical efficiency by the same factor. The slope efficiency is expected to increase with a reduction in the thermal load. The typical crystalline Nd:YAG can be difficult to produce with doping level >1% Nd. To make certain that the absorption at 885 nm is on the same par as the 808-nm diode, the Nd:YAG material needs to be doped with higher concentration of Nd. Ceramic Nd:YAG is the only material that can be tailored

A diode-pumped Tm:CaYAlO4 laser at 1851 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lan, Jinglong; Guan, Xiaofeng; Xu, Bin; Moncorgé, Richard; Xu, Huiying; Cai, Zhiping

2017-07-01

Laser emission at ~1850 nm is of great interest for neural stimulation applications. In this letter, we report on the diode-pumped continuous-wave (CW) and Q-switched (QS) laser operation of Tm:CaYAlO4 at 1851 nm, for the first time to our knowledge. In the CW regime, a maximum output power up to 0.62 W is obtained with a laser slope efficiency of about 18.0%. Using a Cr:ZnSe saturable absorber, QS laser operation is achieved with a maximum average output power of 0.25 W, the narrowest pulse width of 107 ns and the highest repetition rate of 5.85 kHz. The corresponding pulse peak power and pulse energy are about 388 W and 42.8 µJ, respectively. In this Q-switched mode, wavelength tuning is also realized over about 3 nm by slightly tilting the saturable absorber.

Room-temperature Q-switched Tm:BaY2F8 laser pumped by CW diode laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coluccelli, Nicola; Galzerano, Gianluca; Laporta, Paolo; Parisi, Daniela; Toncelli, Alessandra; Tonelli, Mauro

2006-02-01

We report on the realization of CW diode-pumped Tm:BaY2F8 Q-switched laser at 1.93 µm. Active Q-switching was obtained by means of an intracavity Pockels cell. A functional characterization of the laser performance is presented with particular attention to output energy, pulse duration, pulse stability, and wavelength tunability. Pulses with time duration as short as 170 ns were demonstrated at the minimum repetition rate of 5 Hz with an energy of 3.2 mJ (corresponding to a peak power of 19 kW). A wavelength tunability range from 1905 nm to 1990 nm has been observed.

Stimulated emission in quantum well laser diodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blood, P.

1989-07-03

We observe that stimulated emission from inhomogeneously pumped quantum well laser diodes is shifted down in energy compared with the subband transition energy. Measured spontaneous emission spectra show that this stimulated emission is due to band-to-band transitions shifted by renormalization at high injected carrier densities, and we suggest that this same mechanism explains reported observations of stimulated emission from inhomogeneously photopumped structures which previously have been interpreted as evidence for longitudinal optic (LO) phonon participation. We show that LO phonon participation cannot account for the photon energy of stimulated emission from conventional homogeneously pumped quantum well laser diodes.

Temperature Effects on the Optical Parameters of a Passively Q-Switched Diode-Side Pumped Yb,Er-Laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogdanovich, M. V.; Izyneev, A. A.; Lantsov, K. I.; Lepchenkov, K. V.; Ryabtsev, A. G.; Pavlovskii, V. N.; Sadovskii, P. I.; Svitenkov, I. E.; Shchemelev, M. A.

2018-03-01

Temperature effects on photoluminescence and absorption spectra of the active medium (LGS-DE erbium phosphate glass) and passive Q-switch (MgAl2O4:Co2+ crystal) of a diode-side pumped Yb,Er-laser are studied. The obtained data are applied to an analysis of the spectral and energetic characteristics of compact erbium emitters. It is established that the dominant generation channel in the temperature range 233-328 K is the optical transition between lower Stark sublevels of Er3+ states 4I13/2 and 4I15/2 (λ = 1532.0-1533.9 nm). A rate-equation system taking into account thermal population of Stark sublevels of states 4I13/2 and 4I15/2 is proposed to describe the experimental temperature dependence of the threshold absorbed power of the pumping radiation. This system and the lasing threshold enable modeling of Yb,Er-emitter output energetic and temporal characteristics.

High-power laser diodes at various wavelengths

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Emanuel, M.A.

High power laser diodes at various wavelengths are described. First, performance and reliability of an optimized large transverse mode diode structure at 808 and 941 nm are presented. Next, data are presented on a 9.5 kW peak power array at 900 nm having a narrow emission bandwidth suitable for pumping Yb:S-FAP laser materials. Finally, results on a fiber-coupled laser diode array at {approx}730 nm are presented.

Double-pass tapered amplifier diode laser with an output power of 1 W for an injection power of only 200 μW.

PubMed

Bolpasi, V; von Klitzing, W

2010-11-01

A 1 W tapered amplifier requiring only 200 μW of injection power at 780 nm is presented in this paper. This is achieved by injecting the seeding light into the amplifier from its tapered side and feeding the amplified light back into the small side. The amplified spontaneous emission of the tapered amplifier is suppressed by 75 dB. The double-passed tapered laser, presented here, is extremely stable and reliable. The output beam remains well coupled to the optical fiber for a timescale of months, whereas the injection of the seed light did not require realignment for over a year of daily operation.

Novel diode laser-based sensors for gas sensing applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tittel, F. K.; Lancaster, D. G.; Richter, D.

2000-01-01

The development of compact spectroscopic gas sensors and their applications to environmental sensing will be described. These sensors employ mid-infrared difference-frequency generation (DFG) in periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystals pumped by two single-frequency solid state lasers such as diode lasers, diode-pumped solid state, and fiber lasers. Ultrasensitive, highly selective, and real-time measurements of several important atmospheric trace gases, including carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde [correction of formaldehye], and methane, have been demonstrated.

Dual-wavelength vortex beam with high stability in a diode-pumped Yb:CaGdAlO4 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Yijie; Meng, Yuan; Fu, Xing; Gong, Mali

2018-05-01

We present a stable dual-wavelength vortex beam carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) with two spectral peaks separated by a few terahertz in a diode-pumped Yb:CaGdAlO4 (CALGO) laser. The dual-wavelength spectrum is controlled by the pump power and off-axis loss in a laser resonator, arising from the broad emission bandwidth of Yb:CALGO. The OAM beam is obtained by a pair of cylindrical lenses serving as a π/2 convertor for high-order Hermite–Gaussian modes. The stability is verified by the fact that a 1\\hbar OAM beam with two spectral peaks at 1046.1 nm and 1057.2 nm (3.01 THz interval) can steadily operate for more than 3 h. It has great potential for scaling the application of OAM beams in terahertz spectroscopy, high-resolution interferometry, and so on.

Efficient bone cutting with the novel diode pumped Er:YAG laser system: in vitro investigation and optimization of the treatment parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stock, Karl; Diebolder, Rolf; Hausladen, Florian; Hibst, Raimund

2014-03-01

It is well known that flashlamp pumped Er:YAG lasers allow efficient bone ablation due to strong absorption at 3μm by water. Preliminary experiments revealed also a newly developed diode pumped Er:YAG laser system (Pantec Engineering AG) to be an efficient tool for use for bone surgery. The aim of the present in vitro study is the investigation of a new power increased version of the laser system with higher pulse energy and optimization of the treatment set-up to get high cutting quality, efficiency, and ablation depth. Optical simulations were performed to achieve various focus diameters and homogeneous beam profile. An appropriate experimental set-up with two different focusing units, a computer controlled linear stage with sample holder, and a shutter unit was realized. By this we are able to move the sample (slices of pig bone) with a defined velocity during the irradiation. Cutting was performed under appropriate water spray by moving the sample back and forth. After each path the ablation depth was measured and the focal plane was tracked to the actual bottom of the groove. Finally, the cuts were analyzed by light microcopy regarding the ablation quality and geometry, and thermal effects. In summary, the results show that with carefully adapted irradiation parameters narrow and deep cuts (ablation depth > 6mm, aspect ratio approx. 20) are possible without carbonization. In conclusion, these in vitro investigations demonstrate that high efficient bone cutting is possible with the diode pumped Er:YAG laser system using appropriate treatment set-up and parameters.

Spectroscopic analysis and efficient diode-pumped 2.0 μm emission in Ho3+/Tm3+ codoped fluoride glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Ying; Jing, Xufeng; Xu, Shiqing

2013-11-01

Intense 2.0 μm emission has been obtained in Ho3+/Tm3+ codoped ZBLAY glass pumped by common laser diode. Three intensity parameters and radiative properties have been determined from the absorption spectrum based on the Judd-Ofelt theory. The 2 μm emission characteristics and the energy transfer mechanism upon excitation of a conventional 800 nm laser diode are investigated. Efficient Tm3+ to Ho3+ energy transfer processes have been observed in present glass and investigated using steady-state and time-resolved optical spectroscopy measurement. The energy transfer microscopic parameter has been calculated with the Inokuti-Hirayama and Förster-Dexter models. High quantum efficiency of 2 μm emission (80.35%) and large energy transfer coefficient from Tm3+ to Ho3+ indicates this Ho3+/Tm3+ codoped ZBLAY glass is a promising material for 2.0 μm laser.

Tapering Practices of Strongman Athletes.

PubMed

Winwood, Paul W; Dudson, Mike K; Wilson, Daniel; Mclaren-Harrison, Justice K H; Redjkins, Vladislav; Pritchard, Hayden J; Keogh, Justin W L

2018-05-01

Winwood, PW, Dudson, MK, Wilson, D, Mclaren-Harrison, JKH, Redjkins, V, Pritchard, HJ, and Keogh, JWL. Tapering practices of strongman athletes. J Strength Cond Res 32(5): 1181-1196, 2018-This study provides the first empirical evidence of how strongman athletes taper for strongman competitions. Strongman athletes (n = 454) (mean ± SD: 33.2 ± 8.0 years, 178.1 ± 10.6 cm, 108.6 ± 27.9 kg, 12.6 ± 8.9 years general resistance training, 5.3 ± 5.0 years strongman implement training) completed a self-reported 4-page internet survey on tapering practices. Analysis by sex (male and female), age (≤30 and >30 years), body mass (≤105 and >105 kg), and competitive standard (local/regional amateur, national amateur and professional) was conducted. Eighty-seven percent (n = 396) of strongman athletes reported that they used a taper. Athletes stated that their typical taper length was 8.6 ± 5.0 days, with the step taper the most commonly performed taper (52%). Training volume decreased during the taper by 45.5 ± 12.9%, and all training ceased 3.9 ± 1.8 days out from competition. Typically, athletes reported that training frequency and training duration stayed the same or decreased and training intensity decreased to around 50% in the last week. Athletes generally stated that tapering was performed to achieve recovery, rest, and peak performance; the deadlift, yoke walk, and stone lifts/work took longer to recover from than other lifts; assistance exercises were reduced or removed in the taper; massage, foam rolling, nutritional changes, and static stretching were strategies used in the taper; and, poor tapering occurred when athletes trained too heavy/hard or had too short a taper. These data will assist strongman athletes and coaches in the optimization of tapering variables leading to more peak performances. Future research could investigate the priming and preactivation strategies strongman athletes use on competition day.

Mode-locked solid state lasers using diode laser excitation

DOEpatents

Holtom, Gary R [Boston, MA

2012-03-06

A mode-locked laser employs a coupled-polarization scheme for efficient longitudinal pumping by reshaped laser diode bars. One or more dielectric polarizers are configured to reflect a pumping wavelength having a first polarization and to reflect a lasing wavelength having a second polarization. An asymmetric cavity provides relatively large beam spot sizes in gain medium to permit efficient coupling to a volume pumped by a laser diode bar. The cavity can include a collimation region with a controlled beam spot size for insertion of a saturable absorber and dispersion components. Beam spot size is selected to provide stable mode locking based on Kerr lensing. Pulse durations of less than 100 fs can be achieved in Yb:KGW.

Characterization of High-power Quasi-cw Laser Diode Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephen, Mark A.; Vasilyev, Aleksey; Troupaki, Elisavet; Allan, Graham R.; Kashem, Nasir B.

2005-01-01

NASA s requirements for high reliability, high performance satellite laser instruments have driven the investigation of many critical components; specifically, 808 nm laser diode array (LDA) pump devices. Performance and comprehensive characterization data of Quasi-CW, High-power, laser diode arrays is presented.

Single Frequency, Pulsed Laser Diode Transmitter for Dial Water Vapor Measurements at 935nm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Switzer, Gregg W.; Cornwell, Donald M., Jr.; Krainak, Michael A.; Abshire, James B.; Rall, Johnathan A. R.

1998-01-01

We report a tunable, single frequency, narrow linewidth, pulsed laser diode transmitter at 935.68nm for remote sensing of atmospheric water vapor. The transmitter consists of a CW, tunable, external cavity diode laser whose output is amplified 2OdB using a tapered diode amplifier. The output is pulsed for range resolved DIAL lidar by pulsing the drive current to the diode amplifier at 4kHz with a .5% duty cycle. The output from the transmitter is 36OnJ/pulse and is single spatial mode. It maintains a linewidth of less than 25MHz as its wavelength is tuned across the water vapor absorption line at 935.68nm. The transmitter design and its use in a water vapor measurement will be discussed.

Modeling of flowing gas diode pumped alkali lasers: dependence of the operation on the gas velocity and on the nature of the buffer gas.

PubMed

Barmashenko, B D; Rosenwaks, S

2012-09-01

A simple, semi-analytical model of flowing gas diode pumped alkali lasers (DPALs) is presented. The model takes into account the rise of temperature in the lasing medium with increasing pump power, resulting in decreasing pump absorption and slope efficiency. The model predicts the dependence of power on the flow velocity in flowing gas DPALs and checks the effect of using a buffer gas with high molar heat capacity and large relaxation rate constant between the 2P3/2 and 2P1/2 fine-structure levels of the alkali atom. It is found that the power strongly increases with flow velocity and that by replacing, e.g., ethane by propane as a buffer gas the power may be further increased by up to 30%. Eight kilowatt is achievable for 20 kW pump at flow velocity of 20  m/s.

Improved power and efficiency for tapered lasers with optimized photonic crystal structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Xiaolong; Qu, Hongwei; Zhao, Shaoyu; Zhou, Xuyan; Lin, Yuzhe; Zheng, Wanhua

2017-10-01

High power and high beam quality laser sources are required in numerous applications such as nonlinear frequency conversion, optical pumping of solid-state and fiber lasers, material processing and others. Tapered lasers can provide a high output power while keeping a high beam quality. However, the conventional tapered lasers suffer from a large vertical beam divergence. We have demonstrated 2-mm long tapered lasers with photonic crystal structures. A high beam quality and a narrow vertical divergence are achieved. In this paper, we optimized the photonic crystal structure and fabricated a 4-mm long tapered laser to further increase the output power and the wall-plug efficiency. Compared with our precious wafer, the optimized structure has a lower doping level to reduce the internal loss. The period of the photonic crystal structure and the thickness of the upper cladding are also reduced. The device has a 1-mm long ridge-waveguide section and a 3-mm long tapered section. The taper angle is 4°. An output power of 7.3 W is achieved with a peak wall-plug efficiency of 46% in continuous-wave mode. The threshold current is around 500 mA and the slope efficiency is 0.93 W/A. In pulsed mode, the output power is 15.6 W and the maximum wall-plug efficiency is 48.1%. The far-field divergence with full width at half maximum is 6.3° for the lateral direction at 3 A. The vertical far-field beam divergence is around 11° at different injection levels. High beam qualities are demonstrated by beam quality factor M2 of 1.52 for the lateral direction and 1.54 for the vertical direction.

Spectroscopic analysis and efficient diode-pumped 1.9 μm Tm3+-doped β'-Gd2(MoO4)3 crystal laser.

PubMed

Tang, Jianfeng; Chen, Yujin; Lin, Yanfu; Gong, Xinghong; Huang, Jianhua; Luo, Zundu; Huang, Yidong

2011-07-04

Tm3+-doped β'-Gd2(MoO4)3 single crystal was grown by the Czochralski method. Spectroscopic analysis was carried out along different polarizations. End-pumped by a quasi-cw diode laser at 795 nm in a plano-concave cavity, an average laser output power of 58 mW around 1.9 μm was achieved in a 0.93-mm-thick crystal when the output coupler transmission was 7.1%. The absorbed pump threshold was 8 mW and the slope efficiency of the laser was 57%. This crystal has smooth and broad gain curve around 1.9 μm, which shows that it is also a potential gain medium for tunable and short pulse lasers.

Recent advances and challenges for diode-pumped solid-state lasers as an inertial fusion energy driver candidate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Payne, S.A.; Beach, R.J.; Bibeau, C.

We discuss how solid-state laser technology can serve in the interests of fusion energy beyond the goals of the National Ignition Facility (NIF), which is now being constructed to ignite a deuterium-tritium target to fusion conditions in the laboratory for the first time. We think that advanced solid-state laser technology can offer the repetition-rate and efficiency needed to drive a fusion power plant, in contrast to the single-shot character of NIF. As discuss below, we propose that a gas-cooled, diode-pumped Yb:S-FAP laser can provide a new paradigm for fusion laser technology leading into the next century.

Enhancing sensitivity of biconical tapered fiber sensors with multiple passes through the taper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohoon, Gregory; Boyter, Chris; Errico, Michael; Vandervoort, Kurt; Salik, Ertan

2010-03-01

A single biconical fiber taper is a simple and low-cost yet powerful sensor. With a distinct strength in refractive index (RI) sensing, biconical tapered fiber sensors can find their place in handheld sensor platforms, especially as biosensors that are greatly needed in health care, environmental protection, food safety, and biodefense. We report doubling of sensitivity for these sensors with two passes through the tapered region, which becomes possible through the use of sensitive and high-dynamic-range photodetectors. In a proof-of-principle experiment, we measured transmission through the taper when it was immersed in isopropyl alcohol-water mixtures of varying concentrations, in which a thin gold layer at the tip of the fiber acted as a mirror enabling two passes through the tapered region. This improved the sensitivity from 0.43 dB/vol % in the single-pass case to 0.78 dB/vol % with two passes through the taper. The refractive index detection limit was estimated to be ~1.2×10-5 RI units (RIU) and ~0.6×10-5 RIU in the single- and double-pass schemes, respectively. We predict that further enhancement of sensitivity may be achieved with a higher number of passes through the taper.

Advancements in high-power diode laser stacks for defense applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandey, Rajiv; Merchen, David; Stapleton, Dean; Patterson, Steve; Kissel, Heiko; Fassbender, Wilhlem; Biesenbach, Jens

2012-06-01

This paper reports on the latest advancements in vertical high-power diode laser stacks using micro-channel coolers, which deliver the most compact footprint, power scalability and highest power/bar of any diode laser package. We present electro-optical (E-O) data on water-cooled stacks with wavelengths ranging from 7xx nm to 9xx nm and power levels of up to 5.8kW, delivered @ 200W/bar, CW mode, and a power-conversion efficiency of >60%, with both-axis collimation on a bar-to-bar pitch of 1.78mm. Also, presented is E-O data on a compact, conductively cooled, hardsoldered, stack package based on conventional CuW and AlN materials, with bar-to-bar pitch of 1.8mm, delivering average power/bar >15W operating up to 25% duty cycle, 10ms pulses @ 45C. The water-cooled stacks can be used as pump-sources for diode-pumped alkali lasers (DPALs) or for more traditional diode-pumped solid-state lasers (DPSSL). which are power/brightness scaled for directed energy weapons applications and the conductively-cooled stacks as illuminators.

Experimental investigation of a diode-pumped powerful continuous-wave dual-wavelength Nd:YAG laser at 946 and 938.6 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, F.; Yu, X.; Yan, R. P.; Li, X. D.; Li, D. J.; Yang, G. L.; Xie, J. J.; Guo, J.

2013-05-01

In this paper, a diode-pumped high-power continuous-wave (cw) dual-wavelength Nd:YAG laser at 946 and 938.6 nm is reported. By using an end-pumped structure, comparative experiments indicate that a 5 mm-length Nd:YAG crystal with a Nd3+-doping concentration of 0.3 at.% is favorable for high-power laser operation, and the optimal transmissivity of the output coupler is 9%. As a result, a maximum output power of 17.2 W for a dual-wavelength laser at 946 and 938.6 nm is obtained at an incident pump power of 75.9 W, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 26.5%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest output power of a quasi-three-level dual-wavelength laser using a conventional Nd:YAG crystal achieved to date. By using a traveling knife-edge method, the beam quality factor and far-field divergence angle at 17 W power level are estimated to be 4.0 and 6.13 mrad, respectively.

Diode pumped solid state lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gluch, Richard P., Jr.

1990-05-01

I've come here today to share with you the experiences of an emerging company that has its hands around an emerging technology, and an interesting approach. And I'd like to make a few conmients today from a business aspect about the iaarketplace as they relate to our formulation of our market or business strategy. I'll share with you the direction on what the business strategy is and then trace with you some of the technical developments that are occurring at Laser Diode Products in St. Louis as they all relate directly to a customer requirernent.

Femtosecond Nonlinearities in Indium Gallium Arsenic Phosphide Diode Lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, Katherine Lavin

Semiconductor optical amplifiers are receiving increasing attention for possible applications to broadband optical communication and switching systems. In this thesis we report the results of an extensive experimental study of the ultrafast gain and refractive index nonlinearities in 1.5 μm InGaAsP laser diode amplifiers. The temporal resolution afforded by the femtosecond optical pulses used in these experiments allows us to study carrier interactions with other carriers as well as carrier interactions with the lattice. The 100-200 fs optical pulses used in the pump -probe experiments are generated by an Additive Pulse Modelocked color center laser. The measured group velocity dispersion in the diodes ranged from -0.6 to -0.95 mu m^{-1 }. Differences in the group velocity for TE - and TM-polarized pulses suggested that cross-polarized pump-probe pulses walk off from each other in the diode. This walk-off can diminish the time resolution of some experiments. A novel heterodyne pump-probe technique was developed to distinguish collinear, copolarized, pump and probe pulses that were nominally at the same wavelength. Comparing cross-polarized and copolarized pump-probe results yielded new information about the physical mechanisms responsible for nonlinear gain in the diodes. We observed a gain compression across the entire bandwidth of the diode, associated with carrier heating. The hot carrier distribution cooled back to the lattice temperature with a 0.6 to 1.0 ps time constant, depending on the device structure. In addition, we observed a 0.1 to 0.25 ps delay in onset of carrier heating. Large gain compression due to two photon absorption was also observed. A small portion of the nonlinear gain is attributed to spectral hole burning. Pulsewidth-dependent output saturation energies were explained by a rate equation model that included the effect of carrier heating. Measurements of pump-induced probe phase changes revealed index nonlinearities due to delayed carrier

The research on the design and performance of 7×1 pump combiners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Yang; Sheng, Quan; Fu, Shijie; Zhang, Haiwei; Bai, Xiaolei; Shi, Wei; Yao, Jianquan

2018-02-01

The 7×1 end-pumped pump combiners employing 105/125 μm multimode fibers as pump fibers are investigated. Based on the results of our theoretical analysis, sufficient taper length (TL) and low refractive index (RI) of the capillary have been adopted to fabricate high transmission efficiency combiners. A 7×1 end-pumped pump combiner with an average transmission efficiency of 98.9% and a total return loss of 1.1‰ is fabricated in experiments, which could find its application in high-power fiber laser systems.

Laminated electromagnetic pump stator core

DOEpatents

Fanning, Alan W.

1995-01-01

A stator core for an electromagnetic pump includes a plurality of circumferentially abutting tapered laminations extending radially outwardly from a centerline axis to collectively define a radially inner bore and a radially outer circumference. Each of the laminations includes radially inner and outer edges and has a thickness increasing from the inner edge toward the outer edge to provide a substantially continuous path adjacent the circumference.

Cladding For Transversely-Pumped Laser Rod

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byer, Robert L.; Fan, Tso Yee

1989-01-01

Combination of suitable dimensioning and cladding of neodymium:yttrium aluminum garnet of similar solid-state laser provides for more efficient utilization of transversely-incident pump light from diode lasers. New design overcomes some of limitations of longitudinal- and older transverse-pumping concepts and promotes operation at higher output powers in TEM00 mode.

Tapered optical fiber tip probes based on focused ion beam-milled Fabry-Perot microcavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

André, Ricardo M.; Warren-Smith, Stephen C.; Becker, Martin; Dellith, Jan; Rothhardt, Manfred; Zibaii, M. I.; Latifi, H.; Marques, Manuel B.; Bartelt, Hartmut; Frazão, Orlando

2016-09-01

Focused ion beam technology is combined with dynamic chemical etching to create microcavities in tapered optical fiber tips, resulting in fiber probes for temperature and refractive index sensing. Dynamic chemical etching uses hydrofluoric acid and a syringe pump to etch standard optical fibers into cone structures called tapered fiber tips where the length, shape, and cone angle can be precisely controlled. On these tips, focused ion beam is used to mill several different types of Fabry-Perot microcavities. Two main cavity types are initially compared and then combined to form a third, complex cavity structure. In the first case, a gap is milled on the tapered fiber tip which allows the external medium to penetrate the light guiding region and thus presents sensitivity to external refractive index changes. In the second, two slots that function as mirrors are milled on the tip creating a silica cavity that is only sensitive to temperature changes. Finally, both cavities are combined on a single tapered fiber tip, resulting in a multi-cavity structure capable of discriminating between temperature and refractive index variations. This dual characterization is performed with the aid of a fast Fourier transform method to separate the contributions of each cavity and thus of temperature and refractive index. Ultimately, a tapered optical fiber tip probe with sub-standard dimensions containing a multi-cavity structure is projected, fabricated, characterized and applied as a sensing element for simultaneous temperature and refractive index discrimination.

First demonstration of green and amber LED-pumped Nd:YAG laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarkashvand, M.; Farahbod, A. H.; Hashemizadeh, S. A.

2018-05-01

For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a green (520 nm) and amber (592 nm) light emitting diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser is reported. The laser oscillator is a stable semi-planar resonator with a total length of 140 mm. The green (amber) light emitting diode-pumped laser produced a 107 (52) µJ laser energy, at 2.6 (0.7) J electrical pump energy. The oscillator operated at a low repetition rate (about 0.1 Hz) in free-running mode, where the laser spikes were initiated about 210–280 µs after the leading edge of the pump pulse. Moreover, the transverse mode profiles of the resonator, pump absorption efficiency, and optical gain have been studied in some detail.

Time-bin entangled photon pairs from spontaneous parametric down-conversion pumped by a cw multi-mode diode laser.

PubMed

Kwon, Osung; Park, Kwang-Kyoon; Ra, Young-Sik; Kim, Yong-Su; Kim, Yoon-Ho

2013-10-21

Generation of time-bin entangled photon pairs requires the use of the Franson interferometer which consists of two spatially separated unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometers through which the signal and idler photons from spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) are made to transmit individually. There have been two SPDC pumping regimes where the scheme works: the narrowband regime and the double-pulse regime. In the narrowband regime, the SPDC process is pumped by a narrowband cw laser with the coherence length much longer than the path length difference of the Franson interferometer. In the double-pulse regime, the longitudinal separation between the pulse pair is made equal to the path length difference of the Franson interferometer. In this paper, we propose another regime by which the generation of time-bin entanglement is possible and demonstrate the scheme experimentally. In our scheme, differently from the previous approaches, the SPDC process is pumped by a cw multi-mode (i.e., short coherence length) laser and makes use of the coherence revival property of such a laser. The high-visibility two-photon Franson interference demonstrates clearly that high-quality time-bin entanglement source can be developed using inexpensive cw multi-mode diode lasers for various quantum communication applications.

Application of fiber tapers in astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcel, Jaclyn; Haynes, Roger; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss

2006-06-01

Fiber tapers have the potential to significantly advance instrument technology into the realm of fully integrated optical systems. Our initial investigation was directed at the use of fiber tapers as f-ratio transformation devices. Using a technique developed for testing focal ratio degradation (FRD), a collimated light source was injected at different angles into various fiber taper samples and the far-field profile of the fiber output was observed. We compare the FRD present in the optical fiber tapers with conventional fibers and determine how effectively fiber tapers perform as image converters. We demonstrate that while silica fiber tapers may have slightly more intrinsic FRD than conventional fibers they still show promise as adiabatic mode transformers and are worth investigating further for their potential use in astronomical instruments. In this paper we present a brief review of the current status of fiber tapers with particular focus on the astronomical applications. We demonstrate the conservation of etendue in the taper transformation process and present the experimental results for a number of different taper profiles and manufacturers.

Wavelength stabilized multi-kW diode laser systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Köhler, Bernd; Unger, Andreas; Kindervater, Tobias; Drovs, Simon; Wolf, Paul; Hubrich, Ralf; Beczkowiak, Anna; Auch, Stefan; Müntz, Holger; Biesenbach, Jens

2015-03-01

We report on wavelength stabilized high-power diode laser systems with enhanced spectral brightness by means of Volume Holographic Gratings. High-power diode laser modules typically have a relatively broad spectral width of about 3 to 6 nm. In addition the center wavelength shifts by changing the temperature and the driving current, which is obstructive for pumping applications with small absorption bandwidths. Wavelength stabilization of high-power diode laser systems is an important method to increase the efficiency of diode pumped solid-state lasers. It also enables power scaling by dense wavelength multiplexing. To ensure a wide locking range and efficient wavelength stabilization the parameters of the Volume Holographic Grating and the parameters of the diode laser bar have to be adapted carefully. Important parameters are the reflectivity of the Volume Holographic Grating, the reflectivity of the diode laser bar as well as its angular and spectral emission characteristics. In this paper we present detailed data on wavelength stabilized diode laser systems with and without fiber coupling in the spectral range from 634 nm up to 1533 nm. The maximum output power of 2.7 kW was measured for a fiber coupled system (1000 μm, NA 0.22), which was stabilized at a wavelength of 969 nm with a spectral width of only 0.6 nm (90% value). Another example is a narrow line-width diode laser stack, which was stabilized at a wavelength of 1533 nm with a spectral bandwidth below 1 nm and an output power of 835 W.

Tapered structure construction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, Eric D.; Takata, Rosalind K.; Slocum, Alexander H.

Feeding stock used to form a tapered structure into a curving device such that each point on the stock undergoes rotational motion about a peak location of the tapered structure; and the stock meets a predecessor portion of stock along one or more adjacent edges.

Diode-side-pumped intracavity frequency-doubled Nd:YAG/BaWO4 Raman laser generating average output power of 3.14 W at 590 nm.

PubMed

Li, Shutao; Zhang, Xingyu; Wang, Qingpu; Zhang, Xiaolei; Cong, Zhenhua; Zhang, Huaijin; Wang, Jiyang

2007-10-15

We report a linear-cavity high-power all-solid-state Q-switched yellow laser. The laser source comprises a diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG module that produces 1064 nm fundamental radiation, an intracavity BaWO(4) Raman crystal that generates a first-Stokes laser at 1180 nm, and a KTP crystal that frequency doubles the first-Stokes laser to 590 nm. A convex-plane cavity is employed in this configuration to counteract some of the thermal effect caused by high pump power. An average output power of 3.14 W at 590 nm is obtained at a pulse repetition frequency of 10 kHz.

Ultra-narrow band diode lasers with arbitrary pulse shape modulation (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryasnyanskiy, Aleksandr I.; Smirnov, Vadim; Mokhun, Oleksiy; Glebov, Alexei L.; Glebov, Leon B.

2017-03-01

Wideband emission spectra of laser diode bars (several nanometers) can be largely narrowed by the usage of thick volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) recorded in photo-thermo-refractive glass. Such narrowband systems, with GHz-wide emission spectra, found broad applications for Diode Pumped Alkali vapor Lasers, optically pumped rare gas metastable lasers, Spin Exchange Optical Pumping, atom cooling, etc. Although the majority of current applications of narrow line diode lasers require CW operation, there are a variety of fields where operation in a different pulse mode regime is necessary. Commercial electric pulse generators can provide arbitrary current pulse profiles (sinusoidal, rectangular, triangular and their combinations). The pulse duration and repetition rate however, have an influence on the laser diode temperature, and therefore, the emitting wavelength. Thus, a detailed analysis is needed to understand the correspondence between the optical pulse profiles from a diode laser and the current pulse profiles; how the pulse profile and duty cycle affects the laser performance (e.g. the wavelength stability, signal to noise ratio, power stability etc.). We present the results of detailed studies of the narrowband laser diode performance operating in different temporal regimes with arbitrary pulse profiles. The developed narrowband (16 pm) tunable laser systems at 795 nm are capable of operating in different pulse regimes while keeping the linewidth, wavelength, and signal-to-noise ratio (>20 dB) similar to the corresponding CW modules.

Diode-end-pumped continuously tunable single frequency Tm, Ho:LLF laser at 2.06 μm.

PubMed

Zhang, Xinlu; Zhang, Su; Xiao, Nana; Cui, Jinhui; Zhao, Jiaqun; Li, Li

2014-03-10

We report on a laser diode-end-pumped continuously tunable single frequency Tm, Ho:LLF laser near room temperature. For transmission of 5%, the maximum single frequency output power of 221 mW at 2064.4 nm was obtained by using two uncoated etalons. The single frequency Tm, Ho:LLF laser operated on the fundamental transverse mode with an M2 factor of 1.13, and the output frequency could be tuned continuously near 1.5 GHz by angle tuning only of the 1 mm thick etalon. Furthermore, the influence of output coupler transmission on the laser performance was also investigated. The single frequency laser can be used as a seed laser for coherent Doppler lidar and differential absorption lidar systems.

Supercontinuum generation covering the entire 0.4-5 µm transmission window in a tapered ultra-high numerical aperture all-solid fluorotellurite fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Z. X.; Yao, C. F.; Jia, S. J.; Wang, F.; Wang, S. B.; Zhao, Z. P.; Liao, M. S.; Qin, G. S.; Hu, L. L.; Ohishi, Y.; Qin, W. P.

2018-02-01

Enormous efforts have been made to realize supercontinuum (SC) generation covering the entire transmission window of fiber materials for their wide applications in many fields. Here we demonstrate ultra-broadband SC generation from 400 to 5140 nm in a tapered ultra-high numerical aperture (NA) all-solid fluorotellurite fiber pumped by a 1560 nm mode-locked fiber laser. The fluorotellurite fibers are fabricated using a rod-in-tube method. The core and cladding materials are TeO2-BaF2-Y2O3- and TeO2-modified fluoroaluminate glasses, respectively, which have large refractive index contrast and similar thermal expansion coefficients and softening temperatures. The NA at 3200 nm of the fluorotellurite fiber is about 1.11. Furthermore, tapered fluorotellurite fibers are prepared using an elongation machine. SC generation covering the entire 0.4-5 µm transmission window is achieved in a tapered fluorotellurite fiber for a pumping peak power of ~10.5 kW through synergetic control of dispersion, nonlinearity, confinement loss and other unexpected effects (e.g. the attachment of dust or water to the surface of the fiber core) of the fiber. Our results show that tapered ultra-high NA all-solid soft glass fibers have a potential for generating SC light covering their entire transmission window.

Lif and Raman Spectroscopy in Undergraduate Labs Using Green Diode-Pumped Solid-State Lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gray, Jeffrey A.

2015-06-01

Electronic spectroscopy of molecular iodine vapor has long been studied in undergraduate physical chemistry teaching laboratories, but the effectiveness of emission work has typically been limited by availability of instrumentation. This talk shows how to make inexpensive green diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers easily tunable for efficient, selective excitation of I2. Miniature fiber-optic spectrometers then enable rotationally resolved fluorescence spectroscopy up to v" = 42 near 900 nm with acquisition times of less than one minute. DPSS lasers are also versatile excitation sources for vibrational Raman spectroscopy, which is another common exercise that has been limited by lack of proper instrumentation in the teaching laboratory. This talk shows how to construct a simple accessory for commercial fluorimeters to record vibrational Raman spectra and depolarization ratios for CCl4 and C2Cl4 as part of a lab exercise featuring molecular symmetry.

Noise and loss in balanced and subharmonically pumped mixers. I - Theory. II - Application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kerr, A. R.

1979-01-01

The theory of noise and frequency conversion for two-diode balanced and subharmonically pumped mixers is presented. The analysis is based on the equivalent circuit of the Schottky diode, having nonlinear capacitance, series resistance, and shot and thermal noise. Expressions for the conversion loss, noise temperature, and input and output impedances are determined in a form suitable for numerical analysis. In Part II, the application of the theory to practical mixers is demonstrated, and the properties of some two-diode mixers are examined. The subharmonically pumped mixer is found to be much more strongly affected by the loop inductance than the balanced mixer, and the ideal two-diode mixer using exponential diodes has a multiport noise-equivalent network (attenuator) similar to that of the ideal single-diode mixer. It is concluded that the theory can be extended to mixers with more than two diodes and will be useful for their design and analysis, provided a suitable nonlinear analysis is available to determine the diode waveforms.

15 mJ single-frequency Ho:YAG laser resonantly pumped by a 1.9 µm laser diode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Na, Q. X.; Gao, C. Q.; Wang, Q.; Zhang, Y. X.; Gao, M. W.; Ye, Q.; Li, Y.

2016-09-01

A 2.09 µm injection-seeded single-frequency Ho:YAG laser resonantly pumped by a 1.91 µm laser diode is demonstrated for the first time. The seed laser is a continuous wave (CW) Ho:YAG non-planar ring oscillator. 15.15 mJ single-frequency output energy is obtained from the injection-seeded Q-switched Ho:YAG laser, with a pulse repetition rate of 200 Hz and a pulse width of 109 ns. The half-width of the pulse spectrum is measured to be 4.19 MHz by using the heterodyne technique. The fluctuation of the center frequency of the single-frequency pulses is 1.52 MHz (root mean square (RMS)) in 1 h.

Optimization of diode-pumped doubly QML laser with neodymium-doped vanadate crystals at 1.34 μm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Gang; Jiao, Zhiyong

2018-05-01

We present a theoretical model for a diode-pumped, 1.34 μm V3+:YAG laser that is equipped with an acoustic-optic modulator. The model includes the loss introduced by the acoustic-optic modulator combined with the physical properties of the laser resonator, the neodymium-doped vanadate crystals and the output coupler. The parameters are adjusted within a reasonable range to optimize the pulse output characteristics. A typical Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:Lu0.15Y0.85VO4 laser at 1.34 μm with acoustic-optic modulator and V3+:YAG is set up, and the experimental output characteristics are consistent with the theoretical simulation results.

InGaAs/InP heteroepitaxial Schottky barrier diodes for terahertz applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhapkar, Udayan V.; Li, Yongjun; Mattauch, Robert J.

1992-01-01

This paper explores the feasibility of planar, sub-harmonically pumped, anti-parallel InGaAs/InP heteroepitaxial Schottky diodes for terahertz applications. We present calculations of the (I-V) characteristics of such diodes using a numerical model that considers tunneling. We also present noise and conversion loss predictions of diode mixers operated at 500 GHz, and obtained from a multi-port mixer analysis, using the I-V characteristics predicted by our model. Our calculations indicate that InGaAs/InP heteroepitaxial Schottky barrier diodes are expected to have an I-V characteristic with an ideality factor comparable to that of GaAs Schottky diodes. However, the reverse saturation current of InGaAs/InP diodes is expected to be much greater than that of GaAs diodes. These predictions are confirmed by experiment. The mixer analyses predict that sub-harmonically pumped anti-parallel InGaAs/InP diode mixers are expected to offer a 2 dB greater conversion loss and a somewhat higher single sideband noise temperature than their GaAs counterparts. More importantly, the InGaAs/InP devices are predicted to require only one-tenth of the local oscillator power required by similar GaAs diodes.

Poly (N-vinyl Carbazole) - Polypyrrole/graphene oxide nanocomposite material on tapered fiber for Q-switched pulse generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, H.; Faruki, M. J.; Jasim, A. A.; Ooi, S. I.; Thambiratnam, K.

2018-02-01

A passively Q-switched fiber laser using a Saturable Absorber (SA) fabricated from a new Poly (N-vinyl Carbazole) - Polypyrrole/Graphene Oxide (PNVC-PPy/GO) nanocomposite material deposited on a tapered fiber is proposed and demonstrated. The PNVC-PPy/GO composition is deposited along a 3 mm length of the 6.5 cm tapered fiber which has a tapered waist of 8 μm. Q-switched pulses are obtained with repetition rates of 25.15-42.7 kHz and pulse widths of 5.74-2.48 μs over a pump power range of 12.8-40.0 mW. A maximum average power of 0.19 mW and pulse energy of 4.43 nJ are also observed. The proposed Q-switched maintains advantages of a simple design and low fabrication cost while at the same time generating high quality Q-switched pulses.

Passively mode-locked diode-pumped Tm3+:YLF laser emitting at 1.91 µm using a GaAs-based SESAM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyazhev, A.; Soulard, R.; Godin, T.; Paris, M.; Brasse, G.; Doualan, J.-L.; Braud, A.; Moncorgé, R.; Laroche, M.; Camy, P.; Hideur, A.

2018-04-01

We report on a diode-pumped Tm:YLF laser passively mode-locked with an InGaAs saturable absorber. The laser emits a train of 31 ps pulses at a wavelength of 1.91 µm with a repetition rate of 94 MHz and a maximum average power of 95 mW. A sustained and robust mode-locking with a signal-to-noise ratio of ~70 dB is obtained even at high relative air humidity, making this system attractive for applications requiring ultra-short pulses in the spectral window just below 2 µm.

Optical spectroscopy and diode-pumped laser characteristics of codoped Tm-Ho:YLF and Tm-Ho:BaYF: a comparative analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cornacchia, F.; Sani, E.; Toncelli, A.; Tonelli, M.; Marano, M.; Taccheo, S.; Galzerano, G.; Laporta, P.

Single crystals of monoclinic BaY2F8 and tetragonal LiYF4 codoped with the same Tm3+ and Ho3+ concentrations were successfully grown by the Czochralski method. Here we present a comparative analysis of the two hosts including spectroscopic characterization and cw diode-pumped laser experiments in the 2-μm wavelength region at room temperature. The main differences between the two hosts are a lower slope efficiency associated with a much wider tuning range (2005-2094 nm) of BaY2F8 with respect to LiYF4.

Tapered fiber nanoprobes: plasmonic nanopillars on tapered optical fiber tips for large EM enhancement.

PubMed

Savaliya, Priten; Dhawan, Anuj

2016-10-01

Employing finite difference time domain simulations, we demonstrate that electromagnetic field enhancement is substantially greater for tapered optical fibers with plasmonic nanostructures present on their tips as compared with non-tapered optical fibers having those plasmonic nanostructures, or with tapered optical fibers without the plasmonic nanostructures. We also carried out fabrication of plasmonic nanostructures on optical fiber tips.

Injection seeded, diode pumped regenerative ring Nd:YAG amplifier for spaceborne laser ranging technology development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coyle, D. Barry; Kay, Richard B.; Degnan, John J.; Krebs, Danny J.; Seery, Bernard D.

1992-01-01

A small, all solid state, regenerative ring amplifier designed as a prototype for space application is discussed. Novel features include dual side pumping of the Nd:YAG crystal and a triangular ring cavity design which minimizes the number of optical components and losses. The amplifier is relatively small (3 ns round trip time) even though standard optical elements are employed. The ring regeneratively amplifies a 100 ps single pulse by approximately 10(exp 5) at a repetition rate of 10 to 100 Hz. The amplifier is designed to be injection seeded with a pulsed, 100 ps laser diode at 1.06 microns, but another Nd:YAG laser system supplying higher pulse energies was employed for laboratory experiment. This system is a prototype laser oscillator for the Geoscience Laser Ranging System (GLRS) platform. Results on measurements of beam quality, astigmatism, and gain are given.

ToF-SIMS characterization of robust window material for use in diode pumped alkali lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fletcher, Aaron; Turner, David; Fairchild, Steven; Rice, Christopher; Pitz, Gregory

2018-03-01

Developments in diode pumped alkali laser (DPAL) systems have been impeded because of the catastrophic failure of laser windows. The window's failure is caused by localized laser-induced heating of window material. This heating is believed to occur due to increases in absorption on or near the surface of the window. This increase is believed to be caused by either adsorption of carbon-based soot from the collisional gas or by the diffusion of rubidium into the bulk material. The work presented here will focus on the diffusion of Rb into the bulk window materials and will strive to identify a superior material to use as windows. The results of this research indicate that aluminum oxynitride (ALON), sapphire, MgAl2O4 (spinel), and ZrO2 are resistant to alkali-induced changes in optical properties.

Continued advances in high brightness fiber-coupled laser modules for efficient pumping of fiber and solid-state lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hemenway, M.; Chen, Z.; Urbanek, W.; Dawson, D.; Bao, L.; Kanskar, M.; DeVito, M.; Martinsen, R.

2018-02-01

Both the fibber laser and diode-pumped solid-state laser market continue to drive advances in pump diode module brightness. We report on the continued progress by nLIGHT to develop and deliver the highest brightness diode-laser pumps using single-emitter technology. Continued advances in multimode laser diode technology [13] and fiber-coupling techniques have enabled higher emitter counts in the element packages, enabling us to demonstrate 305 W into 105 μm - 0.16 NA. This brightness improvement is achieved by leveraging our prior-reported package re-optimization, allowing an increase in the emitter count from two rows of nine emitters to two rows of twelve emitters. Leveraging the two rows off twelve emitter architecture,, product development has commenced on a 400 W into 200 μm - 00.16 NA package. Additionally, the advances in pump technology intended for CW Yb-doped fiber laser pumping has been leveraged to develop the highest brightness 793 nm pump modules for 2 μm Thulium fiber laser pumping, generating 150 W into 200 μm - 0.18 NA and 100 W into 105 μm - 0.15 NA. Lastly, renewed interest in direct diode materials processing led us to experiment with wavelength multiplexing our existing state of the art 200 W, 105 μm - 00.15 NA package into a combined output of 395 WW into 105 μm - 0.16 NA.

Ruggedized microchannel-cooled laser diode array with self-aligned microlens

DOEpatents

Freitas, Barry L.; Skidmore, Jay A.

2003-11-11

A microchannel-cooled, optically corrected, laser diode array is fabricated by mounting laser diode bars onto Si surfaces. This approach allows for the highest thermal impedance, in a ruggedized, low-cost assembly that includes passive microlens attachment without the need for lens frames. The microlensed laser diode array is usable in all solid-state laser systems that require efficient, directional, narrow bandwidth, high optical power density pump sources.

Qualification of Laser Diode Arrays for Mercury Laser Altimeter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephen, Mark; Vasilyev, Aleksey; Schafer, John; Allan, Graham R.

2004-01-01

NASA's requirements for high reliability, high performance satellite laser instruments have driven the investigation of many critical components; specifically, 808 nm laser diode array (LDA) pump devices. Performance of Quasi-CW, High-power, laser diode arrays under extended use is presented. We report the optical power over several hundred million pulse operation and the effect of power cycling and temperature cycling of the laser diode arrays. Data on the initial characterization of the devices is also presented.

Highly efficient dual-wavelength mid-infrared CW Laser in diode end-pumped Er:SrF2 single crystals

PubMed Central

Ma, Weiwei; Qian, Xiaobo; Wang, Jingya; Liu, Jingjing; Fan, Xiuwei; Liu, Jie; Su, Liangbi; Xu, Jun

2016-01-01

The spectral properties and laser performance of Er:SrF2 single crystals were investigated and compared with Er:CaF2. Er:SrF2 crystals have larger absorption cross-sections at the pumping wavelength, larger mid-infrared stimulated emission cross-sections and much longer fluorescence lifetimes of the upper laser level (Er3+:4I11/2 level) than those of Er:CaF2 crystals. Dual-wavelength continuous-wave (CW) lasers around 2.8 μm were demonstrated in both 4at.% and 10at.% Er:SrF2 single crystals under 972 nm laser diode (LD) end pumping. The laser wavelengths are 2789.3 nm and 2791.8 nm in the former, and 2786.4 nm and 2790.7 nm in the latter, respectively. The best laser performance has been demonstrated in lightly doped 4at.% Er:SrF2 with a low threshold of 0.100 W, a high slope efficiency of 22.0%, an maximum output power of 0.483 W. PMID:27811994

Highly efficient dual-wavelength mid-infrared CW Laser in diode end-pumped Er:SrF2 single crystals.

PubMed

Ma, Weiwei; Qian, Xiaobo; Wang, Jingya; Liu, Jingjing; Fan, Xiuwei; Liu, Jie; Su, Liangbi; Xu, Jun

2016-11-04

The spectral properties and laser performance of Er:SrF 2 single crystals were investigated and compared with Er:CaF 2 . Er:SrF 2 crystals have larger absorption cross-sections at the pumping wavelength, larger mid-infrared stimulated emission cross-sections and much longer fluorescence lifetimes of the upper laser level (Er 3+ : 4 I 11/2 level) than those of Er:CaF 2 crystals. Dual-wavelength continuous-wave (CW) lasers around 2.8 μm were demonstrated in both 4at.% and 10at.% Er:SrF 2 single crystals under 972 nm laser diode (LD) end pumping. The laser wavelengths are 2789.3 nm and 2791.8 nm in the former, and 2786.4 nm and 2790.7 nm in the latter, respectively. The best laser performance has been demonstrated in lightly doped 4at.% Er:SrF 2 with a low threshold of 0.100 W, a high slope efficiency of 22.0%, an maximum output power of 0.483 W.

Highly efficient dual-wavelength mid-infrared CW Laser in diode end-pumped Er:SrF2 single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Weiwei; Qian, Xiaobo; Wang, Jingya; Liu, Jingjing; Fan, Xiuwei; Liu, Jie; Su, Liangbi; Xu, Jun

2016-11-01

The spectral properties and laser performance of Er:SrF2 single crystals were investigated and compared with Er:CaF2. Er:SrF2 crystals have larger absorption cross-sections at the pumping wavelength, larger mid-infrared stimulated emission cross-sections and much longer fluorescence lifetimes of the upper laser level (Er3+:4I11/2 level) than those of Er:CaF2 crystals. Dual-wavelength continuous-wave (CW) lasers around 2.8 μm were demonstrated in both 4at.% and 10at.% Er:SrF2 single crystals under 972 nm laser diode (LD) end pumping. The laser wavelengths are 2789.3 nm and 2791.8 nm in the former, and 2786.4 nm and 2790.7 nm in the latter, respectively. The best laser performance has been demonstrated in lightly doped 4at.% Er:SrF2 with a low threshold of 0.100 W, a high slope efficiency of 22.0%, an maximum output power of 0.483 W.

Continuous-wave yellow-green laser at 0.56  μm based on frequency doubling of a diode-end-pumped ceramic Nd:YAG laser.

PubMed

Yao, Wenming; Gao, Jing; Zhang, Long; Li, Jiang; Tian, Yubing; Ma, Yufei; Wu, Xiaodong; Ma, Gangfei; Yang, Jianming; Pan, Yubai; Dai, Xianjin

2015-06-20

We present what is, to the best of our knowledge, the first report on yellow-green laser generation based on the frequency doubling of the 1.1 μm transitions in Nd:YAG ceramics. By employing an 885 nm diode laser as the end-pumping source and a lithium triborate crystal as the frequency doubler, the highest continuous wave output powers of 1.4, 0.5, and 1.1 W at 556, 558, and 561 nm are achieved, respectively. These result in optical-to-optical efficiencies of 6.9%, 2.5%, and 5.4% with respect to the absorbed pump power, respectively.

Theoretical and experimental study of a laser-diode-pumped actively Q-switched Yb:NaY(WO4)2 laser with acoustic-optic modulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Haikun; Xia, Wei; Song, Peng; Wang, Jing; Li, Xin

2018-03-01

A laser-diode-pumped actively Q-switched Yb:NaY(WO4)2 laser operating at around 1040 nm is presented for the first time with acoustic-optic modulator. The dependence of pulse width on incident pump power for different pulse repetition rates is measured. By considering the Guassian spatial distribution of the intracavity photon density and the initial population-inversion density as well as the longitudinal distribution of the photon density along the cavity axis and the turn off time of the acoustic-optic Q-switch, the coupled equations of the actively Q-switched Yb:NaY(WO4)2 laser are given. The coupled rate equations are used to simulate the Q-switched process of laser, and the numerical solutions agree with the experimental results.

The generation of a continuous-wave Nd:YVO4/LBO laser at 543 nm by direct in-band diode pumping at 888 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, S. C.; Wang, X.; Chu, H.

2013-02-01

We report the generation of a green laser at 543 nm by intracavity frequency doubling of the continuous-wave (cw) laser operation of a 1086 nm Nd:YVO4 laser under 888 nm diode pumping into the emitting level 4F3/2. An LiB3O5 (LBO) crystal, cut for critical type I phase matching at room temperature, is used for the laser second-harmonic generation. At an incident pump power of 17.8 W, as high as 4.53 W cw output power at 543 nm is achieved. The optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is up to 25.4%, and the fluctuation of the green output power is better than 2.3% in a 30 min period.

Tapered GRIN fiber microsensor.

PubMed

Beltrán-Mejía, Felipe; Biazoli, Claudecir R; Cordeiro, Cristiano M B

2014-12-15

The sensitivity of an optical fiber microsensor based on inter-modal interference can be considerably improved by tapering a short extension of the multimode fiber. In the case of Graded Index fibers with a parabolic refractive index profile, a meridional ray exhibits a sinusoidal path. When these fibers are tapered, the period of the propagated beam decrease down-taper and increase up-taper. We take advantage of this modulation -along with the enhanced overlap between the evanescent field and the external medium- to substantially increase the sensitivity of these devices by tuning the sensor's maximum sensitivity wavelength. Moreover, the extension of this device is reduced by one order of magnitude, making it more propitious for reduced space applications. Numerical and experimental results demonstrate the success and feasibility of this approach.

Structure of picosecond pulses of a Q-switched and mode-locked diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Donin, V I; Yakovin, D V; Gribanov, A V

2015-12-31

The pulse duration of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser, in which Q-switching with mode-locking (QML regime) is achieved using a spherical mirror and a travelling-wave acousto-optic modulator, is directly measured with a streak camera. It is found that the picosecond pulses can have a non-single-pulse structure, which is explained by excitation of several competing transverse modes in the Q-switching regime with a pulse repetition rate of 1 kHz. In the case of cw mode-locking (without Q-switching), a new (auto-QML) regime is observed, in which the pulse train repetition rate is determined by the frequency of the relaxation oscillations of the lasermore » field while the train contains single picosecond pulses. (control of laser radiation parameters)« less

Quasi-CW 110 kW AlGaAs Laser Diode Array Module for Inertial Fusion Energy Laser Driver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawashima, Toshiyuki; Kanzaki, Takeshi; Matsui, Ken; Kato, Yoshinori; Matsui, Hiroki; Kanabe, Tadashi; Yamanaka, Masanobu; Nakatsuka, Masahiro; Izawa, Yasukazu; Nakai, Sadao; Miyamoto, Masahiro; Kan, Hirofumi; Hiruma, Teruo

2001-12-01

We have successfully demonstrated a large aperture 803 nm AlGaAs diode laser module as a pump source for a 1053 nm, 10 J output Nd:glass slab laser amplifier for diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) fusion driver. Detailed performance results of the laser diode module are presented, including bar package and stack configuration, and their thermal design and analysis. A sufficiently low thermal impedance of the stack was realized by combining backplane liquid cooling configuration with modular bar package architecture. Total peak power of 110 kW and electrical to optical conversion efficiency of 46% were obtained from the module consisting of a total of 1000 laser diode bars. A peak intensity of 2.6 kW/cm2 was accomplished across an emitting area of 418 mm× 10 mm. Currently, this laser diode array module with a large two-dimensional aperture is, to our knowledge, the only operational pump source for the high output energy DPSSL.

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdTaO4 laser based on tungsten disulfide nanosheets saturable absorber at 1066 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, M. X.; Jin, G. Y.; Li, Y.

2018-05-01

In this paper, we investigated the passively Q-switched Nd:GdTaO4 laser based on tungsten disulfide (WS2) saturable absorber (SA). The preparation method of WS2 SA was to attach the WS2-alcohol dispersion onto the quartz substrates. The diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:GdTaO4 laser operated at a central wavelength of 1066 nm. The stable pulse output could be obtained at the single pulse width of 560 ns. In a word, WS2 seems to be a suitable saturable absorber for solid state lasers.

Dual-wavelength mid-infrared CW and Q-switched laser in diode end-pumped Tm,Ho:GdYTaO4 crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Beibei; Gao, Congcong; Dou, Renqin; Nie, Hongkun; Sun, Guihua; Liu, Wenpeng; Yu, Haijuan; Wang, Guoju; Zhang, Qingli; Lin, Xuechun; He, Jingliang; Wang, Wenjun; Zhang, Bingyuan

2018-02-01

Dual-wavelength continuous-wave and Q-switched lasers are demonstrated in a Tm,Ho:GdYTaO4 crystal under 790 nm laser diode end pumping for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The laser operates with a dual wavelength at 1949.677 nm and 2070 nm for continuous-wave with a spacing of about 120 nm. The maximum output power is 0.332 W with a pump power of 3 W. By using graphene as the saturable absorber, a passively Q-switched operation is performed with a dual-wavelength at 1950.323 nm and 2068.064 nm with a wavelength interval of about 118 nm. The maximum average output power of the Q-switched laser goes up to 200 mW with a minimum pulse duration of 1.2 µs and a maximum repetition rate of 34.72 kHz.

Buprenorphine tapering schedule and illicit opioid use

PubMed Central

Ling, Walter; Hillhouse, Maureen; Domier, Catherine; Doraimani, Geetha; Hunter, Jeremy; Thomas, Christie; Jenkins, Jessica; Hasson, Albert; Annon, Jeffrey; Saxon, Andrew; Selzer, Jeffrey; Boverman, Joshua; Bilangi, Richard

2011-01-01

Aims To compare the effects of a short or long taper schedule after buprenorphine stabilization on participant outcomes as measured by opioid-free urine tests at the end of each taper period. Design This multi-site study sponsored by Clinical Trials Network (CTN, a branch of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse) was conducted from 2003 to 2005 to compare two taper conditions (7 days and 28 days). Data were collected at weekly clinic visits to the end of the taper periods, and at 1-month and 3-month post-taper follow-up visits. Setting Eleven out-patient treatment programs in 10 US cities. Intervention Non-blinded dosing with Suboxone® during the 1-month stabilization phase included 3 weeks of flexible dosing as determined appropriate by the study physicians. A fixed dose was required for the final week before beginning the taper phase. Measurements The percentage of participants in each taper group providing urine samples free of illicit opioids at the end of the taper and at follow-up. Findings At the end of the taper, 44% of the 7-day taper group (n = 255) provided opioid-free urine specimens compared to 30% of the 28-day taper group (n = 261; P = 0.0007). There were no differences at the 1-month and 3-month follow-ups (7-day = 18% and 12%; 28-day = 18% and 13%, 1 month and 3 months, respectively). Conclusion For individuals terminating buprenorphine pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence, there appears to be no advantage in prolonging the duration of taper. PMID:19149822

Generation of multiple spectral bands in a diode-pumped self-mode-locked Nd:YAP laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Y. J.; Tzeng, Y. S.; Cho, H. H.; Chen, Y. F.; Chen, W. D.; Zhang, G.; Chen, T. C.

2016-02-01

A single- and multispectral-band diode end-pumped self-mode-locked Nd:YAP laser is originally demonstrated with an intracavity etalon to properly control the gain-to-loss ratios among the intermanifold lines on the 4F3/2  →  4I11/2 transition level. With a pulse repetition rate of 5.07 GHz, the shortest pulse durations under the single-spectral-band operation are achieved to be 11.1 ps at 1073 nm, 10.9 ps at 1080 nm, and 15.1 ps at 1084 nm, respectively. Moreover, the temporal overlapping of the multispectral-band pulses is experimentally found to lead to the generation of an intensity fringe pattern in the autocorrelation trace with the optical-beat frequency reaching several terahertz. A simple mathematical model is developed to elucidate the formation of a train of optical-beat pulses.

Single-frequency operation of diode-pumped 2 microm Q-switched Tm:YAG laser injection seeded by monolithic nonplanar ring laser.

PubMed

Gao, Chunqing; Lin, Zhifeng; Gao, Mingwei; Zhang, Yunshan; Zhu, Lingni; Wang, Ran; Zheng, Yan

2010-05-20

We present a diode-pumped, 2mum single-frequency Q-switched Tm:YAG laser. The Q-switched laser is injection seeded by a monolithic Tm:YAG nonplanar ring oscillator with the ramp-hold-fire technique. The output energy of the 2mum single-frequency Q-switched pulse is 2.23mJ, with a pulse width of 290ns and a repetition rate of 200Hz. From the heterodyne beating measurement, the frequency difference between the seed laser and the Q-switched laser is determined to be 37.66MHz, with a half-width of the symmetric spectrum of about 2 MHz.

Selective Emitter Pumped Rare Earth Laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chubb, Donald L. (Inventor); Patton, Martin O. (Inventor)

2001-01-01

A selective emitter pumped rare earth laser provides an additional type of laser for use in many laser applications. Rare earth doped lasers exist which are pumped with flashtubes or laser diodes. The invention uses a rare earth emitter to transform thermal energy input to a spectral band matching the absorption band of a rare earth in the laser in order to produce lasing.

Dispersion tuning in sub-micron tapers for third-harmonic and photon triplet generation.

PubMed

Hammer, Jonas; Cavanna, Andrea; Pennetta, Riccardo; Chekhova, Maria V; Russell, Philip St J; Joly, Nicolas Y

2018-05-15

Precise control of the dispersion landscape is of crucial importance if optical fibers are to be successfully used for the generation of three-photon states of light-the inverse of third-harmonic generation (THG). Here we report gas-tuning of intermodal phase-matched THG in sub-micron-diameter tapered optical fiber. By adjusting the pressure of the surrounding argon gas up to 50 bars, intermodally phase-matched third-harmonic light can be generated for pump wavelengths within a 15 nm range around 1.38 μm. We also measure the infrared fluorescence generated in the fiber when pumped in the visible and estimate that the accidental coincidence rate in this signal is lower than the predicted detection rate of photon triplets.

Scaleable multi-format QCW pump stacks based on 200W laser diode bars and mini bars at 808nm and 940nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berk, Yuri; Karni, Yoram; Klumel, Genady; Openhaim, Yaakov; Cohen, Shalom; Yanson, Dan

2011-03-01

Advanced solid state laser architectures place increasingly demanding requirements on high-brightness, low-cost QCW laser diode pump sources, with custom apertures both for side and end rod pumping configurations. To meet this need, a new series of scaleable pump sources at 808nm and 940nm was developed. The stacks, available in multiple output formats, allow for custom aperture filling by varying both the length and quantity of stacked laser bars. For these products, we developed next-generation laser bars based on improved epitaxial wafer designs delivering power densities of 20W/mm of emission aperture. With >200W of peak QCW power available from a full-length 1cm bar, we have demonstrated power scaling to over 2kW in 10-bar stacks with 55% wall plug efficiency. We also present the design and performance of several stack configurations using full-length and reduced-length (mini) bars that demonstrate the versatility of both the bar and packaging designs. We illustrate how the ROBUST HEAD packaging technology developed at SCD is capable of accommodating variable bar length, pitch and quantity for custom rod pumping geometries. The excellent all-around performance of the stacks is supported by reliability data in line with the previously reported 20 Gshot space-grade qualification of SCD's stacks.

Laser-diode pumped dysprosium-doped lead thiogallate laser output wavelength temporal evolution and tuning possibilities at 4.3-4.7 um

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jelínková, Helena; Doroshenko, Maxim E.; Šulc, Jan; Němec, Michal; Jelínek, Michal; Osiko, Vjatcheslav V.; Badikov, Valerii V.; Badikov, Dmitri V.

2016-03-01

On the basis of our previous Dy3+:PbGa2S4 laser study, laser output wavelength temporal evolution as well as tuning possibilities in the range 4.3-4.7 μm were investigated. Active crystal was pumped by a fiber-coupled Brightlase Ultra- 50 diode laser (1.7 μm, max. power 7.5 W). Laser resonator was formed by flat dichroic pumping mirror (T = 70%@1.7 μm, R~100% @ 3.5 - 5 μm) and a concave (r = 200 mm) output coupler with R~99% @ 3.5 - 5 μm. The laser output wavelength dependence on the pump pulse duration and its evolution during the pulse was investigated first without any spectrally-selective element in the cavity. At pump pulse duration of 1 ms, generation just near Dy3+ fluorescence maximum of 4.35 μm has been observed. Prolongation of the pulse up to 5 ms led to similar lasing at 4.35 μm in the first millisecond, followed by simultaneous generation at 4.35 and 4.38 μm in the next millisecond, and further lasing at 4.6 μm till the end of the pump pulse. Increase of pump pulse duration up to 10 ms led to similar oscillation pulse development followed by generation at 4.6 μm only. Furthermore, output wavelength tuning using MgF2 birefringent filter as a cavity spectral selective element was investigated under 10 ms pumping. Almost continuous tuning without any significant dip has been observed within spectral range from 4.3 up to 4.7 μm. Due to practically closed cavity mean output power in the maximum of tuning curve was in the order of 400 μW.

Advancement of High Power Quasi-CW Laser Diode Arrays For Space-based Laser Instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Meadows, Byron L.; Baker, nathaniel R.; Baggott, Renee S.; Singh, Upendra N.; Kavaya, Michael J.

2004-01-01

Space-based laser and lidar instruments play an important role in NASA s plans for meeting its objectives in both Earth Science and Space Exploration areas. Almost all the lidar instrument concepts being considered by NASA scientist utilize moderate to high power diode-pumped solid state lasers as their transmitter source. Perhaps the most critical component of any solid state laser system is its pump laser diode array which essentially dictates instrument efficiency, reliability and lifetime. For this reason, premature failures and rapid degradation of high power laser diode arrays that have been experienced by laser system designers are of major concern to NASA. This work addresses these reliability and lifetime issues by attempting to eliminate the causes of failures and developing methods for screening laser diode arrays and qualifying them for operation in space.

Diode Pumped Alkaline Laser System: A High Powered, Low SWaP Directed Energy Option for Ballistic Missile Defense High-Level Summary - April 2017

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wisoff, P. J.

The Diode-Pumped Alkali Laser (DPAL) system is an R&D effort funded by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) underway at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). MDA has described the characteristics needed for a Boost Phase directed energy (DE) weapon to work against ICBM-class threat missiles. In terms of the platform, the mission will require a high altitude Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that can fly in the “quiet” stratosphere and display long endurance – i.e., days on station. In terms of the laser, MDA needs a high power, low size and weight laser that could be carried by such a platform andmore » deliver lethal energy to an ICBM-class threat missile from hundreds of kilometers away. While both the military and industry are pursuing Directed Energy for tactical applications, MDA’s objectives pose a significantly greater challenge than other current efforts in terms of the power needed from the laser, the low size and weight required, and the range, speed, and size of the threat missiles. To that end, MDA is funding two R&D efforts to assess the feasibility of a high power (MWclass) and low SWaP (size, weight and power) laser: a fiber combining laser (FCL) project at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, and LLNL’s Diode-Pumped Alkali Laser (DPAL) system.« less

Monitoring the fabrication of tapered optical fibres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mullaney, K.; Correia, R.; Staines, S. E.; James, S. W.; Tatam, R. P.

2017-04-01

A variety of optical methods to enhance the process of making optical fibre tapers are explored. A thermal camera was used to both refine the alignment of the optical components and optimize the laser power profile during the tapering process. The fibre transmission was measured to verify that the tapers had the requisite optical characteristics while the strain experienced by the fibre while tapering was assessed using an optical fibre Bragg grating. Using these techniques, adiabatic tapers were fabricated with a 2% insertion loss.

Vertical cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers with injection laser pumping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDaniel, D. L., Jr.; McInerney, J. G.; Raja, M. Y. A.; Schaus, C. F.; Brueck, S. R. J.

1990-05-01

Continuous-wave GaAs/GaAlAs edge-emitting diode lasers were used to pump GaAs/AlGaAs and InGaAs/AlGaAs vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with resonant periodic gain (RPG) at room temperature. Pump threshold as low as 11 mW, output powers as high as 27 mW at 850 nm, and external differential quantum efficiencies of about 70 percent were observed in GaAs/AlGaAs surface -emitters; spectral brightness 22 times that of the pump laser was also observed. Output powers as high as 85 mW at 950 nm and differential quantum efficiencies of up to 58 percent were recorded for the InGaAs surface-emitting laser. This is the highest quasi-CW output power ever reported for any RPG VCSEL, and the first time such a device has been pumped using an injection laser diode.

Discrete multi-wavelength tuning of a continuous wave diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nadimi, Mohammad; Waritanant, Tanant; Major, Arkady

2018-05-01

Discrete multi-wavelength operation of a diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser at four different wavelengths was demonstrated using a single birefringent filter plate. The laser achieved maximum output powers of 5.92 W, 5.66 W, 5.56 W and 3.98 W at 1063.2 nm, 1070.8 nm, 1082.5 nm and 1086.2 nm wavelengths, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, apart from achieving the maximum output powers at ~1071 nm and ~1086 nm and best efficiencies at ~1071 nm, ~1083 nm and ~1086 nm wavelengths for a Nd:GdVO4 laser, this is also the largest number of wavelengths from the 4F3/2  →  4I11/2 transition that was ever obtained in a controlled manner from a single laser setup based on any of the Nd-doped laser crystals.

Efficient blue emission of ytterbium-doped Sr5(PO4)3F under quasi-three-level intracavity pumping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Y.; Cao, G. H.

2012-02-01

We report an Yb:Sr5(PO4)3F (Yb:S-FAP) laser emitting at 985 nm intracavity pumped by a 912 nm diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser. A 808 nm diode laser is used to pump the Nd:GdVO4 crystal emitting at 912 nm, and the Yb:S-FAP laser emitting at 985 nm intracavity pumped at 912 nm. With incident pump power of 17.5 W, intracavity second harmonic generation has been demonstrated with a power of 131 mW at 492.5 nm by using a LBO nonlinear crystal.

Investigations of Q-switching and mode locking in diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser with passive saturable absorbers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwiatkowski, Jacek; Jabczynski, Jan K.; Zendzian, Waldemar

2005-03-01

The saturable absorbers (Cr4+:YAG, GaAs and LiF crystals for 1064-nm wavelength, V3+:YAG crystals for 1340-nm respectively) were examined as passive Mode Lockers and Q-switches in diode pumped Nd:YVO4 lasers in the Z-type resonators. In each case, partially modulated long trains of QML pulses were observed. As a rule, envelopes with about 1 μs duration and more than 50% depth of modulation were observed. For stabilization of the mode locking trains nonlinear crystals (KTP or LBO) as negative feedback elements were inserted. The fully modulated QML trains for intracavity II harmonic conversion at 670-nm wavelength in V3+:YAG Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser with LBO crystal were demonstrated.

Black phosphorus saturable absorber for a diode-pumped passively Q-switched Er:CaF2 mid-infrared laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chun; Liu, Jie; Guo, Zhinan; Zhang, Han; Ma, Weiwei; Wang, Jingya; Xu, Xiaodong; Su, Liangbi

2018-01-01

A multilayer black phosphorus, as a novel two dimensional saturable absorber, has superb saturable absorption properties for a Er:CaF2 solid-state pulse laser. The pulse laser is realized at mid-infrared region with the passively Q-switched technology by a diode-pumping. The high-quality black phosphorus saturable absorber is fabricated by liquid phase exfoliation method. The pulse laser generates the pulses operation with the pulse duration of 954.8 ns, the repetition rate of 41.93 kHz, the pulse energy of 4.25 μJ and the peak power of 4.45 W. Our work demonstrates that black phosphorus could be used as a kind of efficient mid-infrared region optical absorber for ultrafast photonics.

The Multidisk Diode-Pumped High Power Yb:YAG Laser Amplifier of High-Intensity Laser System with 1 kHz Repetition Rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuptsov, G. V.; Petrov, V. V.; Petrov, V. A.; Laptev, A. V.; Kirpichnikov, A. V.; Pestryakov, E. V.

2018-04-01

The source of instabilities in the multidisk diode-pumped high power Yb:YAG laser amplifier with cryogenic closed-loop cooling in the laser amplification channel of the high-intensity laser system with 1 kHz repetition rate was determined. Dissected copper mounts were designed and used to suppress instabilities and to achieve repeatability of the system. The equilibrium temperature dependency of the active elements on average power was measured. The seed laser for the multidisk amplifier was numerically simulated and designed to allow one to increase pulses output energy after the amplifier up to 500 mJ.

Determination of doxorubicin in plasma by using CE coupled with in-column tapered optic-fiber light-emitting diode induced fluorescence detection.

PubMed

Yang, Xiupei; Qian, Fan; Xie, Linxiang; Yang, Xiaocui; Cheng, Xiumei; Choi, Martin M F

2014-03-01

This paper proposes a novel strategy to enhance detection of doxorubicin in human plasma, using homemade CE combined with normal stacking mode (NSM). The detection system of CE named as in-column tapered optic-fiber light-emitting diode induced fluorescence detection system is economic and more sensitive that has been demonstrated in our previous work. The influence of sample matrix, BGE, applied voltage, and injection time on the efficiency of NSM were systematically investigated. The clean extracts were subjected to CE separation with optimal experimental conditions: Ethanol-water (1:1, v/v) was used as sample matrix, pH 4.12 15 mM sodium phosphate buffer solution containing 70% v/v ACN, applied voltage 23 kV and 45 s hydrodynamic injection at a height of 20 cm. The detection system displayed linear dynamic range from 6.4 to 1.13 × 10(3) ng/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9990 and LOD 2.2 ng/mL for doxorubicin (DOX). The proposed CE method has been successfully applied to determine DOX in human plasma which the recoveries of standard DOX added to human plasma were found to been the range of 93.8-104.6%. The results obtained demonstrate that our detection system combined with NSM is a good idea to enhance sensitivity in CE for routine determination of DOX in some biological specimens. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Tapering Practices of Croatian Open-Class Powerlifting Champions.

PubMed

Grgic, Jozo; Mikulic, Pavle

2017-09-01

Grgic, J and Mikulic, P. Tapering practices of Croatian open-class powerlifting champions. J Strength Cond Res 31(9): 2371-2378, 2017-The aim of this study was to explore tapering practices among 10 Croatian open-class powerlifting champions (mean ± SD: age 29.2 ± 3.2 years; Wilks coefficient 355.1 ± 54.8). The athletes were interviewed about their tapering practices using a semi-structured interview after which the audio content was transcribed. The athletes reported decreasing training volume during the taper by 50.5 ± 11.7% using a step type or an exponential type of taper with a fast decay. Training intensity was maintained or increased during the taper, and it reached its highest values 8 ± 3 days before the competition. Training frequency was reduced or maintained during the taper. The final week included a reduction in training frequency by 47.9 ± 17.5% with the last training session performed 3 ± 1 days before the competition. The participants typically stated that the main reasons for conducting the taper were maintaining strength and reducing the amount of fatigue. They also stated that (a) the taper was structured identically for the squat, bench press, and the deadlift; (b) the training during the taper was highly specific, the assistance exercises were removed, and the same equipment was used as during competition; (c) the source of information for tapering was their coach, and training fluctuated based on the coach's feedback; and (d) nutrition, foam rolling, static stretching, and massage were all given extra attention during the taper. These results may aid athletes and coaches in strength sports in terms of the optimization of tapering variables.

Pulse compression in an electro-optic Q-switched diode-pumped YVO4/Nd:YVO4 laser with a Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber.

PubMed

Li, Tao; Zhao, Shengzhi; Zhuo, Zhuang; Yang, Kejian; Li, Guiqiu; Li, Dechun

2009-04-20

A diode end-pumped doubly Q-switched YVO4/Nd:YVO4 laser has been realized for the first time to our knowledge by using both an electro-optic (EO) modulator and a Cr4):YAG saturable absorber. A 3.8 ns pulse width is generated by this laser under a pump power of 15 W at 2 kHz, which is obviously compressed in comparison with that of 8.8 ns from a single actively EO Q-switched laser. Under the same conditions, peak power values of 174.7 and 93 kW are also obtained. A coupled equation is given to theoretically analyze the experimental data. The experimental and theoretical results show that the doubly Q-switched laser has the advantages of a shorter pulse width and higher pulse peak power in contrast with a singly Q-switched laser.

Comparative evaluation of apically extruded debris with V-Taper, ProTaper Next, and the Self-adjusting File systems.

PubMed

Vyavahare, Nishant K; Raghavendra, Srinidhi Surya; Desai, Niranjan N

2016-01-01

Complete cleaning of the root canal is the goal for ensuring success in endodontics. Removal of debris plays an important role in achieving this goal. In spite of advancements in instrument design, apical extrusion of debris remains a source of inflammation in the periradicular region. To comparatively evaluate the amount of apically extruded debris with V-Taper, ProTaper Next, and the self-adjusting File (SAF) system. Sixty-four extracted human mandibular teeth with straight root canals were taken. Access openings were done and working length determined. The samples were randomly divided into three groups: Group I - V-Taper files (n = 20), Group II - ProTaper Next (n = 20), Group III - SAF (n = 20). Biomechanical preparation was completed and the debris collected in vials to be quantitatively determined. The data obtained was statistically analyzed using ANOVA and post hoc Tukey's test. All the specimens showed apical debris extrusion. SAF showed significantly less debris extrusion compared to V-Taper and ProTaper Next (P < 0.001). Among Groups I and II, ProTaper Next showed lesser debris extrusion as compared to V-Taper, but it was not significant (P = 0.124). The SAF showed least amount of apical debris extrusion when compared to newer rotary endodontic instruments. This indicates that the incidence of inter-treatment flare-ups due to debris extrusion would be less with the SAF.

Broadband Pumping Effects on the Diode Pumped Alkali Laser

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-01

vaccuum) Cs…………………………………………………………………………………... Cesium E……………………………………………..………………………..ethane concentration Fr…………………………………………………………………….……………Francium gi...turbulence the ABL has a limited range of approximately 600 km for liquid fueled ICBM and 300 km for solid fueled ICBM. In addition, it takes the...narrow-banding, laser photon engine [2]. An alkali, typically Rubidium (Rb) or Cesium (Cs), is heated to its gas phase and subject to diode

Quasi-passive heat sink for high-power laser diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vetrovec, John

2009-02-01

We report on a novel heat sink for high-power laser diodes offering unparalleled capacity in high-heat flux handling and temperature control. The heat sink uses a liquid coolant flowing at high speed in a miniature closed and sealed loop. Diode waste heat is received at high flux and transferred to environment, coolant fluid, heat pipe, or structure at a reduced flux. When pumping solid-state or alkali vapor lasers, diode wavelength can be electronically tuned to the absorption features of the laser gain medium. This paper presents the heat sink physics, engineering design, performance modeling, and configurations.

Tapered Screened Channel PMD for Cryogenic Liquids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dodge, Franklin T.; Green, Steve T.; Walter, David B.

2004-02-01

If a conventional spacecraft propellant management device (PMD) of the screened channel type were employed with a cryogenic liquid, vapor bubbles generated within the channel by heat transfer could ``dry out'' the channel screens and thereby cause the channels to admit large amounts of vapor from the tank into the liquid outflow. This paper describes a new tapered channel design that passively `pumps' bubbles away from the outlet port and vents them into the tank. A predictive mathematical model of the operating principle is presented and discussed. Scale-model laboratory tests were conducted and the mathematical model agreed well with the measured rates of bubble transport velocity. Finally, an example of the use of the predictive model for a realistic spacecraft application is presented. The model predicts that bubble clearing rates are acceptable even in tanks up to 2 m in length.

Supercontinuum generation in a tapered tellurite microstructured optical fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, X.; Ohishi, Y.

2014-07-01

Supercontinuum generation (SCG) was investigated in tapered tellurite microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) for various taper profiles. We emphasize on the procedure for finding the dispersion profile that achieve the best width of the SC spectra. An enhancement of the SCG is achieved by varying the taper waist diameter along its length in a carefully designed, and an optimal degree of tapering is found to exist for tapers with an axially uniform waist. We also show the XFROG spectrograms of the pulses propagating through different tapered fibers, confirming the optimized taper conditions.

Optimization of passively mode-locked quasi-continuously diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser in bounce geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frank, Milan; Jelínek, Michal; Kubeček, Václav

2015-01-01

In this paper the operation of pulsed diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser oscillator in bounce geometry passively modelocked using semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SAM), generating microjoule level picosecond pulses at wavelength of 1063 nm, is reported. Optimization of the output coupling for generation either Q-switched mode locked pulse trains or cavity dumped single pulses with maximum energy was performed, which resulted in extraction of single pulses as short as 10 ps and energy of 20 uJ. In comparison with the previous results obtained with this Nd:GdVO4 oscillator and saturable absorber in transmission mode, the achieved pulse duration is five times shorter. Using different absorbers and parameters of single pulse extraction enables generation of the pulses with duration up to 100 ps with the energy in the range from 10 to 20 μJ.

Tapered undulator for SASE FELs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fawley, William M.; Huang, Zhirong; Kim, Kwang-Je

We discuss the use of tapered undulators to enhance the performance of free-electron lasers (FELs) based upon self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE), where the radiation tends to have a relatively broad bandwidth, limited temporal phase coherence, and large amplitude fluctuations. Using the polychromatic FEL simulation code GINGER, we numerically demonstrate the effectiveness of a tapered undulator for parameters corresponding to the existing Argonne low-energy undulator test line (LEUTL) FEL. We also study possible tapering options for proposed x-ray FELs such as the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS).

Investigation on efficiency declines due to spectral overlap between LDAs pump and laser medium in high power double face pumped slab laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lang, Ye; Chen, Yanzhong; Liao, Lifen; Guo, Guangyan; He, Jianguo; Fan, Zhongwei

2018-03-01

In high power diode lasers, the input cooling water temperature would affect both output power and output spectrum. In double face pumped slab laser, the spectrum of two laser diode arrays (LDAs) must be optimized for efficiency reason. The spectrum mismatch of two LDAs would result in energy storing decline. In this work, thermal induced efficiency decline due to spectral overlap between high power LDAs and laser medium was investigated. A numerical model was developed to describe the energy storing variation with changing LDAs cooling water temperature and configuration (series/parallel connected). A confirmatory experiment was conducted using a double face pumped slab module. The experiment results show good agreements with simulations.

High Power Laser Diode Arrays for 2-Micron Solid State Coherent Lidars Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Meadows, Byron; Kavaya, Michael J.; Singh, Upendra; Sudesh, Vikas; Baker, Nathaniel

2003-01-01

Laser diode arrays are critical components of any diode-pumped solid state laser systems, constraining their performance and reliability. Laser diode arrays (LDAs) are used as the pump source for energizing the solid state lasing media to generate an intense coherent laser beam with a high spatial and spectral quality. The solid state laser design and the characteristics of its lasing materials define the operating wavelength, pulse duration, and power of the laser diodes. The pump requirements for high pulse energy 2-micron solid state lasers are substantially different from those of more widely used 1-micron lasers and in many aspects more challenging [1]. Furthermore, the reliability and lifetime demanded by many coherent lidar applications, such as global wind profiling from space and long-range clear air turbulence detection from aircraft, are beyond the capability of currently available LDAs. In addition to the need for more reliable LDAs with longer lifetime, further improvement in the operational parameters of high power quasi-cw LDAs, such as electrical efficiency, brightness, and duty cycle, are also necessary for developing cost-effective 2-micron coherent lidar systems for applications that impose stringent size, heat dissipation, and power constraints. Global wind sounding from space is one of such applications, which is the main driver for this work as part of NASA s Laser Risk Reduction Program. This paper discusses the current state of the 792 nm LDA technology and the technology areas being pursued toward improving their performance. The design and development of a unique characterization facility for addressing the specific issues associated with the LDAs for pumping 2-micron coherent lidar transmitters and identifying areas of technological improvement will be described. Finally, the results of measurements to date on various standard laser diode packages, as well as custom-designed packages with potentially longer lifetime, will be reported.

Comparative evaluation of apically extruded debris with V-Taper, ProTaper Next, and the Self-adjusting File systems

PubMed Central

Vyavahare, Nishant K.; Raghavendra, Srinidhi Surya; Desai, Niranjan N.

2016-01-01

Background: Complete cleaning of the root canal is the goal for ensuring success in endodontics. Removal of debris plays an important role in achieving this goal. In spite of advancements in instrument design, apical extrusion of debris remains a source of inflammation in the periradicular region. Aim: To comparatively evaluate the amount of apically extruded debris with V-Taper, ProTaper Next, and the self-adjusting File (SAF) system. Materials and Methods: Sixty-four extracted human mandibular teeth with straight root canals were taken. Access openings were done and working length determined. The samples were randomly divided into three groups: Group I - V-Taper files (n = 20), Group II - ProTaper Next (n = 20), Group III - SAF (n = 20). Biomechanical preparation was completed and the debris collected in vials to be quantitatively determined. The data obtained was statistically analyzed using ANOVA and post hoc Tukey's test. Results: All the specimens showed apical debris extrusion. SAF showed significantly less debris extrusion compared to V-Taper and ProTaper Next (P < 0.001). Among Groups I and II, ProTaper Next showed lesser debris extrusion as compared to V-Taper, but it was not significant (P = 0.124). Conclusion: The SAF showed least amount of apical debris extrusion when compared to newer rotary endodontic instruments. This indicates that the incidence of inter-treatment flare-ups due to debris extrusion would be less with the SAF. PMID:27217636

Tapered enlarged ends in multimode optical fibers.

PubMed

Brenci, M; Falciai, R; Scheggi, A M

1982-01-15

Radiation characteristics of multimode fibers with enlarged tapers were investigated on a number of samples obtained by varying the fiber drawing speed with a given law corresponding to a prefixed taper profile. The characterization of the fibers was made by near- and far-field intensity pattern measurements as well as by measuring the losses introduced by the taper. With a suitable choice of parameters the taper constitutes a reasonable low-loss component useful, for example, for either efficient coupling to large-spot high-power density sources or connecting fibers of different sizes. Conversely at the exit of the fiber the taper can be used for beam shaping which is of interest for mechanical or surgical applications.

Simultaneous dual-wavelength lasing at 1047 and 1053 nm and wavelength tuning to 1072 nm in a diode-pumped a-cut Nd : LiYF4 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Zhi; Wang, Yi; Xu, Bin; Cheng, Yongjie; Xu, Huiying; Cai, Zhiping

2015-12-01

We report on diode-end-pumped a-cut Nd:YLF laser on F→I transition. In a free-running regime, using an output coupler with a radius of curvature of 1000 mm, we obtain dual-wavelength laser operation at both π-polarized 1047 nm and σ-polarized 1053 nm with maximum output power of about 1.25 W and the highest slope efficiency of about 50.9% at pump power of 5.77 W at room temperature, for the first time to our knowledge. Furthermore, using a 0.1-mm glass plate as a wavelength selector, a dual-wavelength laser at 1047 and 1072 nm can also be yielded with the maximum output power of 0.34 W, which has not been reported before.

Use of pump current modulation of diode laser for increased sensitivity of detection of 13СO2 in human exhaled breath

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kireev, S. V.; Kondrashov, A. A.; Shnyrev, S. L.; Safagaraev, A. P.

2018-03-01

This paper reports that the use of a lock-in detection technique, when the pump current modulation of a diode laser is operating near the wavelength of 2 µm, allows the improvement of the sensitivity of the online detection of 13СO2 in expired air by more than three orders of magnitude. The sensitivity of the 13СO2 detected in the paper is 60 ppb with an error of 13СO2 concentration measured in the exhaled breath at the level of 2.9% for an optical path length of 60 cm.

Investigation of Diode Pumped Alkali Laser Atmospheric Transmission Using Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

atmosphere”. Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics, 82(1):133–140, 2006. 11. Barrass, S., Y. Grard, R.J. Holdsworth, and P.A. Martin . “Near-infrared tun...15. Brown, M. S., S. Williams, C. D. Lindstrom , and D. L. Barone. Progress in Applying Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy to Scramjet

Iodine-stabilized single-frequency green InGaN diode laser.

PubMed

Chen, Yi-Hsi; Lin, Wei-Chen; Shy, Jow-Tsong; Chui, Hsiang-Chen

2018-01-01

A 520-nm InGaN diode laser can emit a milliwatt-level, single-frequency laser beam when the applied current slightly exceeds the lasing threshold. The laser frequency was less sensitive to diode temperature and could be finely tuned by adjusting the applied current. Laser frequency was stabilized onto a hyperfine component in an iodine transition through the saturated absorption spectroscopy. The uncertainty of frequency stabilization was approximately 8×10 -9 at a 10-s integration time. This compact laser system can replace the conventional green diode-pumped solid-state laser and applied as a frequency reference. A single longitudinal mode operational region with diode temperature, current, and output power was investigated.

2D constant-loss taper for mode conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horth, Alexandre; Kashyap, Raman; Quitoriano, Nathaniel J.

2015-03-01

Proposed in this manuscript is a novel taper geometry, the constant-loss taper (CLT). This geometry is derived with 1D slabs of silicon embedded in silicon dioxide using coupled-mode theory (CMT). The efficiency of the CLT is compared to both linear and parabolic tapers using CMT and 2D finite-difference time-domain simulations. It is shown that over a short 2D, 4.45 μm long taper the CLT's mode conversion efficiency is ~90% which is 10% and 18% more efficient than a 2D parabolic or linear taper, respectively.

Passively Q-switched wavelength-tunable 1-μm fiber lasers with tapered-fiber-based black phosphorus saturable absorbers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Huaqing; Wang, Qi; Wang, Dongdong; Li, Li

2018-03-01

In this paper, we demonstrated passively Q-switched wavelength-tunable 1-μm fiber lasers utilizing few-layer black phosphorus saturable absorbers. The few-layer BP was deposited onto the tapered fibers by an optically driven process. The wavelength tunability was achieved with a fiber Sagnac loop comprised of a piece of polarization maintaining fiber and a polarization controller. Stable Q-switching laser operations were observed at wavelengths ranging from 1040.5 to 1044.6 nm at threshold pump power of 220 mW. Maximal pulse energy of 141.27 nJ at a repetition rate of 63 kHz was recorded under pump power of 445 mW.

Laser Diode Pumped Solid State Lasers

DTIC Science & Technology