Efficient nanosecond barium nitrate Raman laser for the visible spectral range

We report on the design and performance of two solid-state Raman lasers, pumped by a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm (8 ns FWHM, 10 Hz, up to 10 mJ), that generate either the first or second Stokes radiation with wavelengths of 563 nm and 598 nm. Barium nitrate crystals with a 1 cm² face area and lengths of 3 cm and 5 cm were used as the Raman-active medium in stable semi-spherical resonators. The Raman lasers produced first Stokes and second Stokes pulses, achieving pulse energies up to 2.3 mJ and conversion efficiencies up to 35% (first Stokes, 5 cm crystal) and 21% (second Stokes, 5 cm crystal). The output beams exhibit nearly Gaussian profiles with beam quality factors of M² = 1.67 and M² = 1.83, respectively. The proposed design and characterization demonstrated a Raman laser with high efficiency and superior beam quality. After subsequent frequency doubling, the output appears well dedicated for future differential absorption LiDAR (DIAL) applications.