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Construction and Characterization of External Cavity Diode Lasers for Atomic Physics
Published on: April 24, 2014
Low-cost, single-mode diode-pumped Cr:Colquiriite lasers
Umit Demirbas1, Duo Li, Jonathan R Birge
1Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. umit@mit.edu
Optics Express
|August 6, 2009
Summary
Three chromium-doped colquiriite lasers offer a cost-effective alternative to titanium-sapphire technology. These lasers, pumped by affordable laser diodes, demonstrate high efficiency and broad tuning ranges for various applications.
Area of Science:
- Laser physics
- Materials science
- Photonics
Background:
- Titanium-sapphire lasers are a benchmark for tunable laser sources but are expensive.
- Developing lower-cost, high-performance alternatives is crucial for broader accessibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate chromium-doped colquiriite materials (Cr:LiSAF, Cr:LiSGaF, Cr:LiCAF) as alternatives to Ti:Sapphire lasers.
- To evaluate their performance in continuous-wave (cw) and mode-locked operation using cost-effective laser diode pumping.
Main Methods:
- Utilized single-mode laser diodes as pump sources for Cr3+:Colquiriite crystals.
- Performed continuous-wave (cw) and mode-locking experiments using semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors.
- Measured output power, slope efficiency, tuning range, pulse duration, pulse energy, and repetition rate.
Main Results:
- Achieved output powers up to 269 mW and slope efficiencies up to 62% in cw operation.
- Demonstrated record cw tuning ranges: 782-1042 nm (Cr:LiSAF), 777-977 nm (Cr:LiSGaF), and 754-871 nm (Cr:LiCAF).
- Generated ~50-100 fs pulses at ~100 MHz with ~1-2.5 nJ pulse energy in mode-locked operation.
- Attained electrical-to-optical conversion efficiencies of 12% (cw) and 8% (mode-locked).
Conclusions:
- Cr3+:Colquiriite lasers provide a low-cost, high-performance alternative to Ti:Sapphire lasers.
- The demonstrated efficiencies and tuning ranges highlight their potential for various spectroscopic and photonic applications.
- Affordable laser diode pumping further enhances their cost-effectiveness and practicality.
