High-Efficiency Frequency Doubling Blue-Laser VECSEL Based on Intracavity Beam Control

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 24; no. 12; p. 3913
• Main Authors: Zhang, Zhuo, Zhang, Jianwei, Du, Ziye, Chen, Chao, Zhou, Yinli, Sun, Jingjing, Liu, Tianjiao, Zhang, Jiye, Zhang, Xing, Ning, Yongqiang, Wang, Lijun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 17.06.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: blue laser; cavity design; Crystals; Efficiency; frequency conversion; intracavity beam control; Lasers; Light; Semiconductors; vertical external cavity surface-emitting laser; blue laser; vertical external cavity surface-emitting laser; frequency conversion; cavity design; intracavity beam control
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s24123913

Blue lasers are integral to a variety of applications, including marine communication, underwater resource exploration, cold laser processing, laser medicine, and beyond. Vertical external cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs) have the advantages of high output power and tunable wavelength, and can output blue laser via frequency doubling. In this article, a new type of intracavity beam control external-cavity structure is introduced. The laser beam waist is effectively adjusted by intracavity beam control, and the frequency conversion efficiency is improved. A laser cavity stability analysis model was developed to investigate the impact of laser cavity lens parameters and relative positions on stability. The external resonant cavity of VECSELs utilizes two optical lenses to position the beam waist near the laser output coupling mirror and locates the frequency doubling crystal at a high optical power density position to optimize frequency conversion efficiency. The VECSEL straight external-cavity structure achieves a frequency conversion efficiency of up to 60.2% at 488 nm, yielding a blue laser output exceeding 1.3 W. The full width at half maximum of the 488 nm spectrum measures approximately 0.23 nm. This intracavity beam-controlled direct external-cavity structure effectively mitigates laser mode leakage and shows potential for the development of an efficient and compact blue laser source.