[OPTICAL REVIEW Vol. 5, No. 6 (1998) 363-368]
Analytical and Experimental Studies on Nd:YVO4/KTP Lasers Pumped by High-brightness Laser Diodes
Deyuan SHEN and Ken-ichi UEDA
Institute for Laser Science, University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1, Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585 Japan
(Received June 15, 1998; Accepted August 24, 1998)
We report analytical and experimental studies on the characteristics of a high-brightness laser diode end-pumped Nd:YVO4/KTP laser. A simple model was developed to optimize the cavity parameters and estimate the green output power of intracavity frequency doubled lasers. Using a 1 W high-brightness laser diode as the pump source, high efficiency operation was realized. The second-harmonic output power at 532 nm was measured to be 286.5 mW at an incident pump power of 881.4 mW, corresponding to an optical to optical efficiency of 32.5%.
Key words : high-brightness laser diode, Nd:YVO4, intracavity frequency doubled lasers