Nd : YAG ceramic laser obtained high slope-efficiency of 62% in high power applications

By using quite uniformly nine-stacks side-around arranged compact pumping system, a high power Nd:YAG ceramic quasi-CW laser with high slope efficiency of 62% has been demonstrated. With 450 W quasi-CW stacked laser diode bars pumping at 808 nm, performance of the Nd: YAG ceramic laser with different output coupling mirrors has been investigated. Optimum output power of 236 W at 1064 nm was obtained and corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency was as high as 52.5%. The laser system operated quite stably and no saturation phenomena have been observed, which means higher output laser power could be obtained if injecting higher pumping power. The still-evolving Nd: YAG ceramics are potential super excellent media for high power practical laser applications. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America.

Kilohertz electro-optic Q-switched Nd : YAG ceramic laser

We investigate the lasing characteristics of a laser-diode-array side-pumped electro-optic Q-switched Nd:Y3Al5O12 ceramic laser operating at 1000 Hz pulse repetition rate. Using a YAG poltcrystalline rod with Nd3+ concentration at 1 at.% as the gain medium, pumping with 808 nm laser-diode-arrays, the Q-switched laser output at 1064 nm wavelength with 23 mJ pulse energy and less than 12 ns FWHM pulse width are obtained at a pumping power of about 400 W, the slope efficiency is around 15%, the output beam divergence angle is about 1.2 mrad.

Theoretical study on longitudinally pumped Yb3+:Y2O3 lasers

To optimize the performance of longitudinally pumped Yb^(3+):Y2O3 ceramic lasers, cavity parameters such as material length and output coupler transmission at a certain laser output power are calculated numerically using quasi-three-level laser model. The results show great potential of Yb^(3+):Y2O3 ceramics for highly efficient diode-pumped solid-state lasers.

5.5W CWYb3+ : Y2O3 ceramic laser pumped with 970 nm laser diode

CW laser output has been demonstrated for polycrystalline transparent 10 at.% Yb3+-doped Y2O3 ceramics. End-pumped with 970 nm laser diode, a maximum output power of 5.5 W has been obtained with absorbed pump power of 31.1 W. The slope efficiency is 25% while the threshold pump power is 5.6 W. Saturation is not observed in our experiments, indicating higher laser output can be expected with higher pump power. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Highly efficient Nd:YAG ceramic CW laser with 59.8% slope-efficiency

In this paper, a highly efficient Ti:sapphire end-pumped 1 at.-% Nd:YAG ceramic laser that is comparable in efficiency with Nd:YAG single crystal lasers has been developed. Optical absorption and emission spectra for Nd:YAG ceramics have been measured. With 673-mW pumping, 295-mW laser output at 1064 nm has been obtained. The laser threshold is only 13 mW. Deducted the transmitted light, the corresponding optical-to-optical conversion efficiency is 58.4%. The lasing characteristics of Nd:YAG ceramic are nearly equal to those of Nd:YAG single crystal.

High-energy LDA switched side-pumped electro-optical Q-switched Nd : YAG ceramic laser

By employing a uniformly compact side-pumping system, a high-energy electro-optical Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser has been demonstrated. With 420 W quasi-cw laser-diode-array pumping at 808 ran and a 100 Hz modulating repetition rate, 50 mJ output energy at 1064 nm was obtained with 10 ns pulse width, 5 W average output power, and 5 MW peak power. Its corresponding slope efficiency was 29.8%. The laser system operated quite stably and no saturation phenomena have been observed, which means higher output energy could be expected. Laser parameters between ceramic and single-crystal Nd:YAG lasers have been compared, and pulse characteristics of Nd:YAG ceramic with different repetition rate have been investigated in detail. The still-evolving Nd:YAG ceramics are potential super excellent media for high-energy laser applications. (C) 2007 Optical Society of America.

Radially polarized and pulsed output from passively Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic microchip laser

For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a radially polarized laser pulse was produced from a passively Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic microchip laser with a piece of Cr4+:YAG crystal as the saturable absorber and multilayer concentric subwavelength grating as the polarization-selective output coupler. The averaged laser power reached 450 mW with a slope efficiency of 30.2%. The laser pulse had a maximum peak power of 759 W, a minimum pulse duration of 86 ns, and a 6.7 kHz repetition rate at 3.7 W absorbed pump power. The polarization degree of the radially polarized pulse was measured to be as high as 97.4%. Such a radially polarized laser pulse with a high peak power and a short width is important to numerous applications such as metal cutting. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America

Efficient excitations of radially and azimuthally polarized Nd 3+:YAG ceramic microchip laser by use of subwavelength multilayer concentric gratings composed of Nb2O5/SiO2

Cylindrical vector beams were produced from laser diode end-pumped Nd:YAG ceramic microchip laser by use of two types of subwavelength multilayer gratings as the axisymmetric-polarization output couplers respectively. The grating mirrors are composed of high- and low-refractive-index (Nb2O5/SiO2) layers alternately while each layer is shaped into triangle and concentric corrugations. For radially polarized laser output, the beam power reached 610mW with a polarization extinction ratio ( PER) of 61: 1 and a slope efficiency of 68.2%; for azimuthally polarized laser output, the beam power reached 626mW with a PER of 58: 1 and a slope efficiency of 47.6%. In both cases, the laser beams had near-diffraction limited quality. Small differences of beam power, PER and slope efficiency between radially and azimuthally polarized laser outputs were not critical, and could be minimized by further optimized adjustment to laser cavity and the reflectances of respective grating mirrors. The results manifested, by use of the photonic crystal gratings mirrors and end-pumped microchip laser configuration, CVBs can be generated efficiently with high modal symmetry and polarization purity. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.

频率上转换掺稀土氧氟纳米微晶玻璃的研究进展

本文综述了近年来用于上转换发光的掺稀土离子氧氟微晶玻璃的研究概况，系统阐述了氧氟微晶玻璃中的上转换发光特性及其机理，提出了值得进一步研究的工作并对掺稀土离子氧氟微晶玻璃未来的前景做出了展望。

Infrared-to-visible upconversion emissions in Er3+ doped TeO2-based oxyhalide glasses

The fluorescence and up-conversion spectral properties of Er3+-doped TeO2-ZnO and TeO2-ZnO-PbCl2 glasses suitable for developing optical fiber amplifier and laser have been fabricate and characterized. Strong green (around 527-550 nm) and red (around 661 nm) up-conversion emissions under 977 nm laser diode excitation were investigated, corresponding to H-2(11/2), S-4(3/2), --> I-4(15/2) and F-4(9/2) --> I-4(15/2) transitions of Er3+ ions respectively, have been observed and the involved mechanisms have been explained. The dependence of up-converted fluorescence intensity versus laser power confirm that two-photons contribute to up-conversion of the green-red emissions. The novelty of this kind of optical material has been its ability in resisting devitrification, and its promising optical properties strongly encourage for their further development as the rare-earth doped optical fiber amplifiers and upconversion fiber laser systems.

Effect of alkaline-earth metal composition on spectroscopic properties of Er3+ in fluorophosphate glasses

Optical spectroscopic properties of Er3+-doped alkaline-earth metal modified fluoropho sphate glasses have been investigated experimentally for developing broadband fiber and planar amplifiers. The results show a strong correlation between the alkaline-earth metal content and the spectroscopic parameters such as absorption and emission cross sections, full widths at half-maximum and Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters. It is found that strontium ions could have more influences on the Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters and the absorption and emission cross sections than other alkaline-earth metal ions such as Mg2+, Ca2+, Ba2+. The sample containing 23 mol% strontium fluoride exhibits the maximum emission cross section of 7.58 x 10(-21) cm(2), the broadest full width at half-maximum of 65 nm and the longer lifetime of 8.6 ms among the alkaline-earth metal modified fluorophosphates glasses studied. The Judd-Ofelt intensity parameter Omega(6)s, the emission cross sections and the full widths at half-maximum in the Er3+-doped fluorophosphate glasses studied are larger than in the silicate and phosphate glasses.

Intense greeen upconversion luminescence in Er3+: Yb3+ codoped fluorophosphate glass ceramic containing SrTe5O11 nanocrystals

Er3+:Yb3+ codoped tellurite-fluorophosphate (TFP) glass ceramic exhibits much stronger upconversion luminescence. The intensity of the 540 nm green light and 651 nm red light of the TFP glass ceramic is 120 times and 44 times stronger than that of the fluorophospahte (FP) glass, respectively. XRD analysis shows that the nanocrystal in TFP glass ceramic is SrTe5O11. TFP glass ceramic also displays much higher upconversion fluorescence lifetime and crystallization stability. The narrow and strong peak at 540 nm is very ideal for practical upconversion luminescence realization. This work is a new trial for exploring non-PbF2 involved nanocrystal upconversion glass ceramics.

Influence of heat treatment on spectroscopic properties of Er3+ in multicomponent ZrF4-ZnF2-AlF3-YF3-MF2 (M = Ca, Sr, Ba) based glass

Er3+ doped multicomponent fluoride based glass was prepared. These precursor fluoride glass samples were then heated using different schedules. Crystalline phase particles were successfully precipitated in the multicomponent fluoride glass samples after heat treatment. The influence of heat treatment on the spectroscopic properties of Er3+ in multicomponent fluoride based glass samples were discussed. Small changes of the Judd-Ofelt parameters Omega(i) (i = 2,4,6) were found in multicomponent fluoride glass samples before and after heat treatment compared to oxyfluoride telluride glass. Preparation conditions used to produce transparent multicomponent fluoride glass ceramics doped with rare-earth ions are discussed. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

New transparent Er3+-doped oxyfluoride tellurite glass ceramic with improved near infrared and up-conversion fluorescence properties

Transparent glass ceramics have been obtained by nucleation and growth of Y2Te6O15 or Er2Te5O13 cubic phase in a new Er3+-doped oxyfluoride tellurite glass. Effect of beat treatment on absorption spectra, luminescence and up-conversion properties in the oxyfluoride tellurite glass has been investigated. With heat treatment the ultraviolet absorption edge red shifted evidently for the oxyfluoride telluride glass. The near infrared emission that corresponds to Er3+:I-4(13/2)-> I-4(15/2) can be significantly enhanced after heat treatment. Under 980 nm LD pumping, red and green up-conversion intensity of Er3+ in the glass ceramic can be observed much stronger than that in the base glass. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Broadband optical amplification in silicate glass-ceramic containing beta-Ga2O3 : Ni2+ nanocrystals

We demonstrate broadband optical amplification at 1.3 mu m in silicate glass-ceramics containing beta-Ga2O3:Ni2+ nanocrystals with 980 nm excitation for the first time. The optical gain efficiency is calculated to be about 0.283 cm(-1) when the excitation power is 1.12 W. The optical gain shows similar wavelength dependence to luminescence properties. (C) 2007 Optical Society of America.