A.S. Yasukevich

Highly efficient continuous-wave diode-pumped Er, Yb:GdAl3(BO3)4 laser

We report the highly efficient continuous-wave diode-pumped laser operation of Er, Yb:GdAl3(BO3)4 crystal. Absorption and stimulated emission spectra, emission lifetimes, and efficiencies of energy transfer from Yb3+ to Er3+ ions were determined. A maximal output power of 780 mW was obtained at 1531 nm at absorbed pump power of 4 W with slope efficiency of 26%.

Passively Q-switched microchip Er, Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 diode-pumped laser.

We report, for the first time to our knowledge, a diode-pumped cw and passively Q-switched microchip Er, Yb:YAl(3)(BO(3))(4) laser. A maximal output power of 800 mW at 1602 nm in the cw regime was obtained at an absorbed pump power of 7.7 W. By using Co(2+):MgAl(2)O(4) as a saturable absorber, a TEM(00)-mode Q-switched average output power of 315 mW was demonstrated at 1522 nm, with pulse duration of 5 ns and pulse energy of 5.25 μJ at a repetition rate of 60 kHz.

Subnanosecond Tm:KLuW microchip laser Q-switched by a Cr:ZnS saturable absorber.

Passive Q-switching of a compact Tm:KLu(WO(4))(2) microchip laser diode pumped at 805 nm is demonstrated with a polycrystalline Cr(2+):ZnS saturable absorber. This laser generates subnanosecond (780 ps) pulses with a pulse repetition frequency of 5.6 kHz at 1846.6 nm, the shortest pulse duration ever achieved by Q-switching of ~2 μm lasers. The maximum average output power is 146 mW with a slope efficiency of 21% with respect to the absorbed power. This corresponds to a pulse energy of 25.6 μJ and a peak power of 32.8 kW.

Eye-safe 1.55 μm passively Q-switched Er,Yb:GdAl3(BO3)4 diode-pumped laser.

We report for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, on a diode-pumped passively Q-switched Er,Yb:GdAl3(BO3)4 laser. By using a Co2+:MgAl2O4 crystal as a saturable absorber, Q-switched laser pulses with a duration of 12 ns and a maximum energy of 18.7 μJ at a repetition rate of 32 kHz corresponding to an average output power of 0.6 W were obtained at 1550 nm under continuous-wave pumping. In the burst mode of operation, Q-switched laser pulses with the highest energy up to 44 μJ were realized with a pulse repetition rate of 6.5 kHz.

Passive Q-switching of microchip lasers based on Ho:YAG ceramics.

A Ho:YAG ceramic microchip laser pumped by a Tm fiber laser at 1910 nm is passively Q-switched by single- and multi-layer graphene, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), and Cr2+:ZnSe saturable absorbers (SAs). Employing SWCNTs, this laser generated an average power of 810 mW at 2090 nm with a slope efficiency of 68% and continuous wave to Q-switching conversion efficiency of 70%. The shortest pulse duration was 85 ns at a repetition rate of 165 kHz, and the pulse energy reached 4.9 μJ. The laser performance and pulse stability were superior compared to graphene SAs even for a different number of graphene layers (n=1 to 4). A model for the description of the Ho:YAG laser Q-switched by carbon nanostructures is presented. This modeling allowed us to estimate the saturation intensity for multi-layered graphene and SWCNT SAs to be 1.2±0.2 and 7±1  MW/cm2, respectively. When using Cr2+:ZnSe, the Ho:YAG microchip laser generated 11 ns/25 μJ pulses at a repetition rate of 14.8 kHz.

Sub-nanosecond Yb:KLu(WO 4 ) 2 microchip laser.

A diode-pumped Yb:KLu(WO₄)₂ microchip laser passively Q-switched by a Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber generated a maximum average output power of 590 mW at 1031 nm with a slope efficiency of 55%. The pulse characteristics were 690 ps/47.6 μJ at a pulse repetition frequency of 12.4 kHz. The output beam had an excellent circular profile with M²<1.05. Yb:KLu(WO₄)₂ is very promising for ultrathin sub-ns microchip lasers.

Laser performance of in-band pumped Er : LiYF4 and Er : LiLuF4 crystals

Spectroscopic properties of Er : LiLuF4 and Er : LiYF4 crystals in the spectral region near 1.5 μm and the lasing characteristics of these crystals under in-band pumping at a wavelength of 1522 nm are studied. With the Er : LiLuF4 crystal, the maximum slope efficiency with respect to the absorbed pump power was 44% at a wavelength of 1609 nm. Continuous-wave operation of an inband pumped Er : LiYF4 laser is obtained for the first time. The output power at a wavelength of 1606 nm was 58 mW with a slope efficiency of 21%.

Passive Q-switching of a Tm,Ho:KLu(WO 4 ) 2 microchip laser by a Cr:ZnS saturable absorber.

A diode-pumped Tm,Ho:KLu(WO4)2 microchip laser passively Q-switched with a Cr:ZnS saturable absorber generated an average output power of 131 mW at 2063.6 nm with a slope efficiency of 11% and a Q-switching conversion efficiency of 58%. The pulse characteristics were 14  ns/9  μJ at a pulse repetition frequency of 14.5 kHz. With higher modulation depth of the saturable absorber, 9  ns/10.4  μJ/8.2  kHz pulses were generated at 2061.1 nm, corresponding to a record peak power extracted from a passively Q-switched Tm,Ho laser of 1.15 kW. A theoretical model is presented, predicting the pulse energy and duration. The simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Flux growth and laser-related spectroscopic properties of (Er,Yb):LuAl3(BO3)4 crystals

Phase relationships in the Er:YbxLu1−xAl3(BO3)4–K2Mo3O10–B2O3–(Lu,Er,Yb)2O3 (x = 0–0.2, Er = 1 at%) system have been studied in the temperature range from 1150 to 900 °C. Multicomponent Li2WO4–B2O3 and K2Mo3O10–B2O3–Lu2O3 melts were used as reasonable fluxes for the high-temperature solution growth of LuAl3(BO3)4 (LuAB) single crystals. The LuAB solubility in the complex flux composition has been found at 25 wt% with decreasing temperature in the temperature interval of 1130–900 °C. (Er,Yb):LuAB single crystals were grown on dipped “point” seeds. The absorption spectra of (Er,Yb):LuAB crystals were measured at room temperature. The emission spectrum and lifetime of the 4I13/2 energy level were determined.

In-band pumped room-temperature Er:KY(WO4)2 laser emitting around 1.6 μm

We present efficient continuous-wave operation of an Er:KY(WO4)2 crystal under in-band pumping by a compact diode-pumped Er, Yb:GdAl3(BO3)4 laser. Maximum slope efficiency of 27% and output power of 35 mW at 1609.5 nm were obtained with beam propagation factor M2 < 1.2. Absorption and stimulated emission cross-section spectra, as well as the radiative lifetime of the 4I13/2 energy level, were determined.