Miniature 946 nm Nd:YAG Laser Pumped By Laser-Diode-Arrays

Abstract

The recent development of high-power GaAlAs laser diode arrays available at wavelengths coinciding with the absorption bands of Nd3+ has made possible compact laser-diode-pumped solid-state lasers. Although most of the work in this field to date has concentrated on the 1.06 µm line of Nd3+ in various crystal and glass hosts, the success of these efforts has stimulated interest in other Nd3+ lines. The 4F3/2 – 4I3/2 transition at 946 nm is of particular interest since it permits generation of blue light by frequency doubling. Until very recently, only flashlamp pumping had been used for the operation of this laser transition, but within the last year end-pumping of minature 946 nm lasers using visible dye lasers and single-stripe laser diodes has been reported. © 1987 Optical Society of America