Laser diode side pumping of neodymium laser rods

The laser performance of Nd:YAG, Nd:YLF, and Nd:LLGG has been measured using linear laser diode arrays to side pump 3- mm diam laser rods. We obtained 4.4-mJ output at 1064 nm with Nd:YAG from 16-mJ optical pump pulses 200 micros long at 807- and 3- nm FWHM. The overall electrical to optical efficiency was ~ 6%. Over 0.4 mJ at 532 nm was obtained with a KTP intracavity frequency doubler.