Introduction to Laser Diode-Pumped Solid State Lasers Book

	Preface	xiii
	List of Symbols	xv
Part I.	Fundamentals of Laser Diode Pumping
Chapter 1.	Introduction	3
1.1	Advantages of diode pumping	4
Chapter 2.	Basic Concepts	7
2.1	Lasers	7
2.2	Resonators	8
2.3	Laser resonator transverse modes	9
2.3.1	TEM[subscript 00]	10
2.3.2	Multimode operation	12
2.3.3	Advantages of single transverse mode operation	12
2.3.4	Longitudinal modes	12
2.4	Laser diodes for pumping solid state lasers	13
2.4.1	Single-stripe diodes	14
2.4.2	Single-mode diodes	15
2.4.3	Pulsed and cw diode operation	15
2.4.4	Diode manufacturing terms	16
2.4.5	Laser diode arrays	16
2.4.6	Laser diode beam spatial properties	17
2.5	Optical fiber concepts	18
2.5.1	Numerical aperture	18
2.5.2	Core size	18
2.5.3	Fiber-coupled single-stripe diodes: Advantages	19
2.5.4	Fiber-coupled laser diode arrays	20
2.6	Light ducts	21
Part II.	Basic End-pumped Laser Design
Chapter 3.	Design of a TEM[subscript 00] Continuous-Wave Diode-pumped Nd:YAG Laser	25
3.1	Considerations: End-pumped or side-pumped?	26
3.2	Selecting the gain element	29
3.2.1	Laser host crystals	29
3.2.2	Laser rod specifications	31
3.3	Selecting the laser diode	32
3.3.1	Pump diode center wavelength and spectral bandwidth	32
3.3.2	Temperature tuning	32
3.3.3	Bandwidth control	33
3.3.4	Current tuning and mode hop	34
3.4	Selecting the resonator	34
3.4.1	Resonator length	34
3.4.2	Resonator configuration	35
3.4.3	Rod coatings	36
3.5	Selecting the pump optics	37
3.5.1	Pump optics	37
3.5.2	Astigmatism correction	38
3.5.3	Focusing lens	39
3.5.4	Polarization combination of laser diodes	41
3.5.5	Diffraction-limited operation	43
Chapter 4.	Operation of the Continuous-Wave Diode-pumped Laser	45
4.1	Resonator gain and loss: Findlay-Clay analysis	45
4.2	Threshold	47
4.3	Optimum output coupling	48
4.4	Laser output, slope efficiency and bandwidth	48
4.4.1	Output	48
4.4.2	Slope efficiency	49
4.4.3	Bandwidth	49
4.5	Efficiency factors	49
4.5.1	Electrical-to-optical efficiency	50
4.5.2	Stokes efficiency	50
4.5.3	Geometric coupling efficiency	50
4.5.4	Laser quantum efficiency	50
4.5.5	Transfer efficiency	51
4.5.6	Extraction efficiency	51
4.5.7	Summary of efficiency factors	51
4.6	Dependence of the laser output power on the diode wavelength	52
Part III.	Advanced Concepts for Diode Pumping
Chapter 5.	Power Scaling Considerations	57
5.1	Scaling the diode pump power	58
5.1.1	Diode arrays	58
5.2	Thermal effects	60
5.2.1	Thermal lensing	60
5.2.3	Other thermal effects	61
5.3	Novel designs for end pumping	61
5.3.1	Penta-prism	62
5.3.2	Diode-pumped ring laser	63
5.4	Fiber-coupled laser diode arrays: Power density	64
5.5	Spectral bandwidth of diode arrays	65
Chapter 6.	Side-pumped Designs	67
6.1	Zig-zag slab laser	68
6.2	Novel side-pumped design	69
Chapter 7.	Other Output Wavelengths for Nd-doped Lasers	71
7.1	Operation at 1.3 [mu]m	71
7.2	Operation at 946 nm	72
Chapter 8.	Diodes for Pumping Other Gain Elements	75
8.1	900-nm diodes	75
8.2	670-nm diodes	75
Chapter 9.	Examples of Other Diode-pumped Lasers	77
9.1	Yb-doped lasers	77
9.2	Cr-doped tunable solid state lasers	78
9.3	Dye lasers	80
Chapter 10.	Intracavity Elements: Q-switching, SHG, and Single-Longitudinal-Mode Operation	83
10.1	Acousto-optic Q-switch for high repetition rate	83
10.2	Intracavity SHG for visible laser output	85
10.3	Single-longitudinal-mode lasers	86
10.3.1	Ring lasers	87
10.3.2	"Microchip" lasers	88
Chapter 11.	Conclusion	91
	Bibliography	93
	References	95
	Index	97