YAG Laser End and Side Pumped by a Laser Diode

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Laser-diode-pumped solid-state lasers offer advantages in efficiency and compactness.
• Optimizing pump configurations is crucial for enhancing laser performance.
• Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG) lasers are widely used in various applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and theoretically analyze a combined end and side pump approach for a YAG laser.
• To experimentally demonstrate a laser-diode-pumped YAG laser using this novel pump configuration.
• To evaluate the performance metrics including pump threshold, output power, and optical efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis of pump efficiency for combined end and side pumping modules.
• Experimental setup of a laser-diode-pumped YAG laser utilizing the proposed configuration.
• Q-switched operation measurements to determine threshold, output energy, and optical efficiency.

Main Results:

• The study presents a theoretical analysis of the total pump efficiency.
• A laser-diode-pumped YAG laser was successfully demonstrated with the combined pump approach.
• Experimental results show a pump threshold of 81.2 mJ, a maximum output of 4.4 mJ, and an optical efficiency of approximately 3.1%.

Conclusions:

• The combined end and side pump configuration is effective for laser-diode-pumped YAG lasers.
• This approach yields efficient Q-switched operation.
• The demonstrated performance validates the proposed pumping strategy for YAG lasers.