Efficient single-axial-mode operation of a Ho:YAG ring laser pumped by a Tm-doped silica fiber laser

Shen, D.Y., Clarkson, W.A., Cooper, L.J. and Williams, R.B. (2004) Efficient single-axial-mode operation of a Ho:YAG ring laser pumped by a Tm-doped silica fiber laser. Optics Letters, 29 (20), 2396-2398. (doi:10.1364/OL.29.002396).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Efficient single-frequency operation of a Ho:YAG ring laser at room temperature with a traveling-wave TeO₂ acousto-optic modulator to enforce unidirectional operation is reported. By use of a 2-at.% Ho³⁺-doped 10-mm-long Ho:YAG rod, end pumped by a cladding-pumped tunable Tm-doped silica fiber operating at 1.9 µm, the Ho:YAG ring laser yielded 3.7 W of single-frequency output at 2.1 µm in a diffraction-limited TEM_00 beam with M2 < 1.1 for an incident pump power of 8.8 W. The rf power required for unidirectional operation was 0.3 W and corresponded to an increase in cavity loss for the lasing direction (due to diffraction) of only 0.5%. The prospects for further improvement in efficiency are discussed.

Text

2990 - Author's Original

Download (306kB)