Efficient continuous-wave operation of a diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser at 1342 nm

The experimental study described in this paper investigates the continuous-wave power performance of an efficient diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser at 1342 nm by employing four different end pumping configurations. When pumped by a high-power fiber-coupled diode array at 806 nm, the compact resonator consisting of a 9.25-mm long Nd:YVO4 crystal and a 3.6% transmitting output coupler produced as high as 3550 mW of output power. The absorbed power slope efficiency was measured to be 28.1%. By using the experimentally measured threshold data, the stimulated emission cross-section of the gain medium was determined to be 13 X 10(-19) cm(2) at 1342 nm. Above absorbed pump powers of 11 W, strong thermal loading caused saturation of the output power and the focal length of the induced thermal lens was measured as a function of the pump power. Results further showed that the laser output was insensitive to variations in the crystal boundary temperature between 20 degrees C and 40 degrees C. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.