Frequency-stabilized, 10-W continuous-wave, laser-diode end-pumped, injection-locked Nd:YAG laser.

Area of Science:

• Laser Physics
• Quantum Optics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Continuous-wave (cw) Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) lasers are crucial for various scientific and industrial applications.
• Achieving high efficiency, stability, and single-mode output simultaneously presents a significant challenge in laser design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient and highly stable injection-locked, laser-diode end-pumped cw Nd:YAG laser.
• To characterize the output power, beam quality, and noise properties of the developed laser system.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an injection-locking technique with a single-frequency master laser to control the slave Nd:YAG laser.
• Employed fiber-coupled laser diodes for end-pumping the Nd:YAG gain medium.
• Implemented frequency stabilization by locking the laser output to an external high-finesse reference cavity.

Main Results:

• Achieved 10 W of linearly polarized, TEM(00)-mode output with a single longitudinal mode.
• Demonstrated high efficiency with 22.3 W of pump input power.
• Measured relative intensity noise of 2 x 10(-5)/√Hz and frequency-noise spectral density of 50 Hz/√Hz at 300 Hz.
• Attained a minimum frequency-noise spectral density of 40 mHz/√Hz at 1 kHz after frequency stabilization.

Conclusions:

• The developed injection-locked Nd:YAG laser offers a robust platform for applications requiring high power, excellent beam quality, and superior frequency stability.
• The frequency stabilization technique significantly reduces laser frequency noise, enabling precision measurements and advanced optical experiments.