TITLE:
Diode Pumped High Peak Power Quasi Q-Switched and Passively Q-Switched Nd:YVO4 Lasers at 1064 nm and 532 nm using Cr:YAG and KTP crystals
AUTHORS:
Ashraf F. El-Sherif, Mahmoud M. Talat
KEYWORDS:
High Power Diode Laser; High Power Nd:YVO4 Laser; Cr:YAG Saturable Absorber Mirror; Passive Q-Switching; KTP Crystal; Self Q-Switching; Special Cooling System
JOURNAL NAME:
Optics and Photonics Journal,
Vol.3 No.1,
March
25,
2013
ABSTRACT: Diode end-pumped solid-state lasers have the potential to yield high quality laser beams with high efficiency for laser range finding and warning receiver applications as well as day and night military laser designation systems. In this paper we presents theoretical calculations using Advanced Dynamics Professional LASCAD software and experimental studies for a high power pigtailed fiber diode laser module of 8 W operating at 808 nm with a specially designed high efficiency cooling system, end pumped high-efficiency Nd:YVO4 laser of 3 × 3 × 10 mm rod and overall cavity length of 44 mm. To the best of our knowledge a self Q-switching effects was generated in Nd:YVO4 laser by changing the cavity dimensions and the position of the intracavity KTP crystal at certain regime of operation for the first time, in which the cavity length is reduced to be 30 mm and the distance between Nd:YVO4 rod and KTP crystal is only 1mm. Self Q-switched laser pulse at 532 nm with high peak power of 96 W, pulse width of 88 ns at FWHM and repetition rate of 400 kHz was achieved. Experimental studies of a passive Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser using Cr:YAG crystal with three different transmissions of 30%, 40% and 70% were investigated. Passive Q-switched laser pulse at 1064 nm and narrow line width of less than 1.5 nm with highest peak power of nearly 18 kW, short pulse width of less than 4 ns at FWHM and higher repetition rate of 45 kHz using Cr:YAG with transmission of 30% was achieved for the first time.