Self-Q-switched Nd:YVO/sub 4/ microchip lasers

• Published in: Technical Digest. Summaries of Papers Presented at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics. Conference Edition. 1998 Technical Digest Series, Vol.6 (IEEE Cat. No.98CH36178) pp. 484 - 485
• Main Authors: Conroy, R.S., Lake, T., Friel, G.J., Kemp, A.J., Sinclair, B.D.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 1998
• Subjects: Absorption; Dielectric materials; Laser modes; Laser stability; Laser theory; Microchip lasers; Mirrors; Optical materials; Stimulated emission; Surface emitting lasers
• ISBN: 1557523390
• DOI: 10.1109/CLEO.1998.676528

Summary form only given. Microchip lasers are typically formed by applying dielectric mirrors directly to two near-parallel surfaces of a thin slice of laser gain material. Nd:YVO/sub 4/ is a commonly used gain material because of its short absorption depth and high stimulated emission cross section. While working on gain-switched Nd:YVO/sub 4/ microchip lasers, we observed in these monolithic devices large spiking behavior, which could not be accounted for by normal gain-switching theory. Gain switching can produce peak powers in excess of a watt, several times the cw level, with pulses as short as 5 ns. However, the large spikes we observed were several hundred times the cw level with peak powers >25 W and pulses as short as 1.85 ns, more similar in nature to Q-switched pulses. We have constructed a simple model to include this effect in determining the stability of a microchip laser. The results of this model are presented in comparison to the observed experimental work, to show how the effects of gain-related cavity stability can cause self-Q-switching in a Nd:YVO/sub 4/ microchip laser.