Compact Nd:YVO4 lasers with pulse repetition rates up to 160 GHz

We present a comprehensive study on multigigahertz repetition rate Nd:YVO4 lasers, passively mode-locked with semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors. A brief review of Q-switching instabilities with special emphasis on high repetition rate is given. We then present basic design guidelines, and exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE journal of quantum electronics 2002-10, Vol.38 (10), p.1331-1338
Main Authors: KRAINER, Lukas, PASCHOTTA, Rüdiger, LECOMTE, Steve, MOSER, Michael, WEINGARTEN, Kurt J, KELLER, Ursula
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Diode-pumped lasers
Doped-insulator lasers and other solid state lasers
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Laser optical systems: design and operation
Lasers
Optics
Physics
Q-switching
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Summary:We present a comprehensive study on multigigahertz repetition rate Nd:YVO4 lasers, passively mode-locked with semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors. A brief review of Q-switching instabilities with special emphasis on high repetition rate is given. We then present basic design guidelines, and experimentally show that one can push the pulse repetition rate of a Nd:YVO4 laser up to 157 GHz, reaching the fundamental limit to the repetition rate which is given by the pulse duration and thus by the amplification bandwidth. We also demonstrate an air-cooled diode-pumped 10-GHz Nd:YVO4 laser with 2.1-W average output power and 13 percent electrical-to-optical efficiency, showing the potential of solid-state lasers generating multiwatt, multigigahertz pulse trains with high efficiency. (Author)
ISSN:0018-9197
1558-1713
DOI:10.1109/JQE.2002.802967