Efficient operation of a room-temperature Nd:YAG 946-nm laser pumped with multiple diode arrays

Efficient pulsed room-temperature laser operation at 946 nm is reported for Nd:YAG pumped with multiple diode array bars. We achieved high pump brightness by collimating the outputs from individual bars and focusing them onto the end of a short 3-mm-diameter rod. An average power of 470 mW at 100 Hz was obtained with an optical slope efficiency of 15% based on incident pump power, and greater than 1 W of output was obtained at 300 Hz. Intracavity frequency doubling with KNbO(3) resulted in 40-70-mW output at 473 nm. Q-switched operation is also reported.