Q -switched laser at 912 nm using ground-state-depleted neodymium in yttrium orthosilicate

Journal Article · Sat Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · Optics Letters; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.15.001020· OSTI ID:6176435

Beach, R; Albrecht, G; Solarz, R; Krupke, W; Comaskey, B; Mitchell, S ^[1]; Brandle, C; Berkstresser, G ^[2]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Livermore, CA (USA)
2. AT T Bell Laboratories, 600 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, NJ (USA)

A ground-state-depleted laser is demonstrated in the form of a {ital Q}-switched oscillator operating at 912 nm. By using Nd{sup 3+} as the active ion and Y{sub 2}SiO{sub 5} as the host material, the laser transition is from the lowest-lying Stark level of the Nd{sup 3+} {sup 4}{ital F}{sub 3/2} level to a Stark level 355 cm{sup {minus}1} above the lowest-lying one in the {sup 4}{ital I}{sub 9/2} manifold. The necessity of depleting the ground {sup 4}{ital I}{sub 9/2} manifold is evident for this level scheme as transparency requires a 10% inversion. To achieve the high excitation levels required for the efficient operation of this laser, bleach-wave pumping using an alexandrite laser at 745 nm has been employed. With KNbO{sub 3}, noncritical phase matching is possible at 140{degree} C using {ital d}{sub 32} and is demonstrated.

• OSTI ID: 6176435
• Journal Information: Optics Letters; (USA), Vol. 15:18; ISSN 0146-9592
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
NEODYMIUM LASERS
PERFORMANCE
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
FLUORESCENCE
GARNETS
Q-SWITCHING
YTTRIUM SILICATES
LASERS
LUMINESCENCE
MINERALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SILICATES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SIMULATION
SOLID STATE LASERS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
YTTRIUM COMPOUNDS
426002* - Engineering- Lasers & Masers- (1990-)
360204 - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Physical Properties