Design of a high-power Nd:YAG Q-switched laser cavity

An electro-optically Q-switched Nd:YAG laser resonator that uses two end prisms placed orthogonally perpendicular to each other has been designed. This configuration improves the stability of the resonator and does not alter the characteristics of the electro-optical Q switch. The outcoupling ratio of the cavity is optimized by a change in the azimuthal angle of a phase-matched Porro prism placed at one end of the cavity. The prism placed at the other end of the cavity is designed so that it introduces a phase change of II, regardless of its orientation and index of refraction, resulting in a more efficient and stable cavity.     

Observation and investigation of off-axis modes in a high-power Nd:YAG laser

Unusual transverse patterns were observed in a cw-lamp-pumped Nd:YAG laser near the boundaries of the stability zones of the laser resonator. An interpretation of these patterns is given in terms of off-axis modes, which can be excited owing to spherical aberrations and astigmatism of the thermal lens and thermally induced birefringence. Additional evidence of the off-axis character of the observed modes was obtained by analysis of the temporal behavior of the observed patterns.     

Miniaturized, high-power diode-pumped, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser oscillator-amplifier

A miniaturized, passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser oscillator-power amplifier is reported, which is axially pumped by a compact, fiber-coupled, high-power, quasi-cw diode laser module. The pumping intensity of the oscillator crystal can be adjusted independently of the pumping intensity of the amplifier. This ensures that the oscillator pulse enters the amplifier when its maximum population density is reached. Furthermore, pulse bursts can be generated with a definite, adjustable number of single pulses. Maximum pulse energies of 8.4?and 22?mJ were achieved for a single pulse and for a pulse burst, respectively, at a pumping power of 470?W. The pulse widths were 2?ns, whereas the beam quality corresponded to M2<1.5. The laser is appropriate for scaling the power to the 10?MW range. Operation by using a 100?m pumping fiber was demonstrated.     

Strengthening of poly-crystalline (ceramic) Nd:YAG elements for high-power laser applications

In the last decade, poly-crystalline (ceramic) Nd:YAG components emerged as very promising candidates for high-power lasers, exhibiting some advantages over single-crystal Nd:YAG ones. Such devices are required to endure high thermal stress during operation. In our present work we present experimental results on the strengthening of poly-crystalline YAG and Nd:YAG fine-ground components by chemical etching in hot ortho-phosphoric acid. The strength of poly-crystalline Nd:YAG laser rods was measured inside a laser head by applying the pump power till rod fracture. A factor of ∼3 increase in the fracture longitudinal heat power density for etched poly-crystalline Nd:YAG rods as compared to standard commercial poly-crystalline rods was obtained. This effect is similar to our previous results on single-crystal Nd:YAG laser rods which showed a factor of 3.6-5.0 increase in tensile strength by the same treatment. A modified Weibull analysis was used to assess the fracture probability parameters.     

Efficient Nd:YAG laser end pumped by a high-power multistripe laser-diode bar with multiprism array coupling

A 10-W laser-diode bar, a multistripe monolithic laser-diode array, has been used to end pump Nd:YAG. Twelve beams emitted from 12 stripes, spaced 800 μm apart, of a 1-cm linear diode array were collimated with a multiprism array consisting of 14 prismlets with 800-μm width to pump the Nd:YAG facet. The maximum Nd:YAG cw output power at 1064 nm of 3 W was obtained at 10-W laser-diode-bar power with a slope efficiency of 35%, and a TEM(00) spatial mode with values of beam-quality factor M(2) of 1.29 and 1.76 in the planes perpendicular and parallel to the junction, respectively. A pulse width of 25.2 ns (1-kHz repetition) was obtained in acousto-optic Q-switched operation.     

Laser-diode-pumped Nd:YAG active-mirror laser

We describe a simple design, laser-diode-pumped cw Nd:YAG active-mirror laser and present a thermal analysis of the crystal. A cw output power of 2.4 W and an M(2) beam quality value of less than 1.9 at an incident pumping power of 8.9 W were obtained. From the thermal analysis we predict that the output power can be increased by increasing the pump beam diameter and the pump power at a constant excitation density.     

Nd:YAG激光辐照碳纤维复合材料的质量烧蚀

通过实验研究了连续Nd:YAG激光辐照下碳纤维环氧树脂复合材料的质量烧蚀规律.结果表明:当激光功率密度大于10 kW/cm2时,材料烧蚀质量与激光辐照能量成正比关系;在同样激光辐照能量下,半径为0.65 mm的激光辐照引起的复合材料的质量烧蚀率比半径为5.5 mm的激光辐照的结果大一倍;激光功率在燃烧阈值附近时,燃烧现象引起质量烧蚀率的波动.     

Segment side-pumped Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

In the design of conduction-cooled lasers, a side-pumped configuration is an attempt to solve the space conflict between pump and heat removal. The pump radiation always competes with the heat removal and mechanical support device for the lateral surface of a laser rod. This space conflict can be addressed by a segment side-pumped configuration in which circular laser diode arrays and heat-conducting rod holders alternate periodically along the length of the laser rod. This scheme permitted 11 Hz operation of a 190 mJ Q-switched laser at the wavelength of 1064 nm without the use of liquid cooling for both the laser rod and laser diode arrays and the corresponding optical-optical conversion efficiency of 23.1%. Thus, it has great potential to be used in compact and miniature laser systems.     

Passive Q switching of a solar-pumped Nd:YAG laser

Passive Q switching is a preferable choice for switching the Q factor of a solar-pumped laser because it requires neither a driver nor an electrical power supply. The superior thermal characteristics and durability of Cr(4+):YAG single crystals as passive Q switches for lamp and diode-pumped high-power lasers has been demonstrated. Here we report on an average power of 37 W and a switching efficiency of 80% obtained by use of a solar-pumped Nd:YAG laser Q switched by a Cr(4+):YAG saturable absorber. Concentration of the pumping solar energy on the laser crystal was obtained with a three-stage concentrator, composed of 12 heliostats, a three-dimensional compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) and a two-dimensional CPC. The water-cooled passive Q switch also served as the laser rear mirror. Repetition rates of as much as 50 kHz, at pulse durations between 190 and 310 ns (FWHM) were achieved. From the experimental results, the saturated single-pass power absorption of the Cr(4+):YAG device was estimated as 3 ? 1%.     

Time-resolved measurements of statistics for a Nd:YAG laser

Time-resolved measurements of the fluctuating intensity of a multimode frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser have been performed. For various operating conditions the enhancement factors in nonlinear optical processes that use a fluctuating instead of a single-mode laser have been determined up to the sixth order. In the case of reduced flash-lamp excitation and a switched-off laser amplifier, the intensity fluctuations agree with the normalized Gaussian model for the fluctuations of the fundamental frequency, whereas strong deviations are found under usual operating conditions. The frequencydoubled light has in the latter case enhancement factors not so far from values of Gaussian statistics.     

Megahertz-repetition-rate Nd:glass fiber laser

Stable trains of 100-200-ns-long pulses are obtained at 0.46-1.06-MHz repetition rates in a Nd:glass fiber laser by driving large-amplitude relaxation oscillations at or below their resonance. Numerical simulations agree qualitatively with temporal profiles of the output power. We show that the maximum pulse-repetition rate of a relaxation-oscillation laser increases as the square root of pump power at low P and that its theoretical upper limit is close to the pulse rate of a mode-locked laser.     

Doubly Q-switched tape casting YAG/Nd:YAG/YAG ceramic laser

A doubly Q-switched 1.06 μm pulsed laser using a novel tape casting YAG/Nd:YAG/YAG composite ceramic with a sandwich structure was demonstrated for the first time. Compared to purely acousto-optical (AO) Q-switching, this laser using an AO Q-switch and Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber simultaneously can generate shorter pulses. The pulsed laser performance was investigated at two modulated repetition rates of 10 and 20 kHz.     

All-solid-state tunable DCM dye laser pumped by a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

Lasing is observed near 620 nm in a DCM dye doped TiO(2)-content organically modified silicate (ORMOSIL) pumped by frequency-doubled radiation from a diode-pumped Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The laser wavelength is tunable over 60 nm. A conversion efficiency of 18% is obtained at its central wavelength of 621 nm. The laser output energy has only a 10% reduction after 27,000 pulses at a pump repetition rate of 30 Hz and a pump intensity of 1 J/cm(2). An all-solid-state, compact, long-lifetime, and tunable dye laser has been demonstrated.     

Diode-laser-pumped Nd:YAG laser injection seeding system

We have designed and tested a compact injection seeding system consisting of a diode-laser-pumped Nd:YAG master oscillator and a permanent-magnet Faraday isolator. With active resonator frequency stabilization, this system permits highly reliable single-axial-mode operation of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser over a period of hours. The system is capable of injection seeding both stable and unstable resonator designs and is suitable for injection seeding commercial lasers with only minor modifications.     

Polarization control of a Q-switched, diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

We describe control of the polarization state of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser that is Q switched with an acousto-optic modulator (AOM). One of two orthogonal linear polarization states can be made dominant, depending on the amount of loss introduced by the AOM. Heterodyne beating indicates that the two polarization states are of slightly different frequencies.     

Efficiency optimization for a diode-pumped Nd:YAG ceramic slab laser

With the help of photometric calculations based on ray-tracing algorithms, we have optimized the efficiency of the optical pumping of a Nd:YAG ceramic slab laser. The slab pumping is performed by means of two horizontal diode laser array stacks. The use of two small reflecting walls allows the sort of duct coupling that is capable of significantly improving the performance of the system. Our first experiments with a simple direct coupling provided a maximum extraction of slightly more than 160 W at a 20% slope efficiency level. The use of the optimized short duct coupling leads us to the extraction of 350 W with a slope efficiency of 51%, making use of the same diode arrays. The laser design is suitable for the construction of cw sources with a power output above 1 kW.     

Localized boriding of low-carbon steel using a Nd:YAG laser

Localized boriding of low-carbon steel by the conventional technique requires tedious preboriding treatment and a long processing time. Laser boriding of low-carbon steel can be performed faster, and without any preboriding treatment. The feasibility of selective boriding of AISI 1018 steel using a NdYAG laser has been investigated. High hardness in the range 950–2200 H_v was obtained during laser boriding of AISI 1018 steel. The wide range of hardness is due to the variety of microstructures possible during laser boriding. Electron microprobe analysis showed that the highest hardness (2200 H_v) was due to the formation of FeB, and the lowest hardness was due to a mixture of Fe₂B and eutectic (_Fe+Fe₂B). The most desirable microstructure in laser boriding of AISI 1018 steel was found to be Fe₂B, which incorporates a combination of a high hardness, in the range of 1300–1700 H_v, and a compressive stress at the treated surface.     

Development of iridium TES by pulsed laser deposition with a Nd:YAG laser

The use of cryogenics micro calorimeters with Transition Edge Sensors for high-resolution spectroscopy for space applications puts several constraints on the detector's performances. Among several requirements, the long term stability of TES from a chemical and physical point of view is one of the most important. Iridium is a very interesting material for TES fabrication due to its excellent chemical stability and low transition temperature. Starting from the promising results we had with a cryogenic microcalorimeter with TES made of an Ir single crystal, we are developing a procedure to produce patterned Ir thin films by means of the Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD). PLD with an infrared laser, in UHV, allows very clean evaporation process, good efficiency (about 4 nm/shot) and low dissipated power in the vacuum chamber (about 1 W). We have applied a lift-off mask technique that allows to heat the substrate during the deposition, which improves the adhesion and the thermal conductivity and circumvents the needs of very aggressive etchant solutions.     

Single-frequency diode-pumped Nd:YAG prism laser with use of a composite laser crystal

A compact, stable, diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser suitable for high-power single-frequency operation is investigated theoretically as well as experimentally. Residual spatial hole burning has been eliminated with a unidirectional ring-laser design with a specially designed intracavity prism and a composite YAG laser crystal. A detailed Jones matrix analysis is performed, leading to design criteria for high loss difference and high-frequency stability.     

Polarization characteristics of a Nd:YAG laser side pumped by diode laser bars

A detailed experimental investigation of the polarization characteristics of a diode laser side-pumped Nd:YAG laser has been performed. A Brewster plate inserted into the cavity resulted in a decrease of 50% of the output power that is due to depolarization. A thin-film polarizer (TFP) was introduced into the cavity and the depolarization loss served as the output coupling. By introduction of a quarter-wave plate (QWP) the output coupling rate and the beam shape were improved. An analytical expression for the output coupling rate of a cavity containing a TFP and a QWP has been derived. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simplified theoretical analysis.