title: Improved pump-beam distribution in a diode side-pumped solid-state laser with a highly diffuse, cross-axis beam delivery system.
abstract: A new cavity for diode side-pumped solid-state lasers was designed, built, and tested. The results were efficient absorption of pumped light in the media and homogeneous pumped-beam distribution under various pump-power levels, which generated Nd:YAG active media of different radii and concentrations and shifts of the diode wavelength. Full-multimode quasi-continuous pump operation with a slope efficiency of 40.5% was obtained from a plane-plane resonator equipped with two Nd:YAG rods. At a maximum average pump power of 1.33 kW, the optical-to-optical efficiency was 31.4%. Single-transverse-mode operation (M(2) factor of less than 1.1) of 163 W was demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Kamakura, Kanagawa 247-8501, Japan. pavel@ims.ac.jp
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pavel
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koyata
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tajime