Resonantly diode-pumped continuous-wave and Q-switched Er:YAG laser at 1645 nm.
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.
Chang
N W H
NW
Department of Physics and Institute for Photonics & Advanced Sensing, The University of Adelaide, SA, Australia. nick.chang@adelaide.edu.au
Simakov
N
N
Hosken
D J
DJ
Munch
J
J
Ottaway
D J
DJ
Veitch
P J
PJ
D007259:Infrared Rays; D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D055095:Optics and Photonics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*