Experimental study of Ti : sapphire laser end-pumped Nd : YAG ceramic laser Q-switched by Cr4+: YAG saturable absorber

By employing a continuous-wave (CW) Ti:sapphire tunable laser as a pumping source and a Cr4+:YAG single crystal as the saturable absorber (SA), a passively Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser has been demonstrated at room temperature. With an absorbed pumping power of 541 mW at 808 nm, an average output power of 61 mW at 1064 nm has been obtained with 3.5 mu J pulse energy, 15 ns pulse width and 18.18 kHz repetition rate, and the corresponding slope-efficiency is 15%. The relationships between the pulse width, repetition rate, average output power, pulse energy, and peak power on the absorbed pumping power for different initial transmission of the Cr4+:YAG SA are discussed separately. The Nd:YAG ceramic is one of the most promising laser materials for compact, efficient, all-solid-state pulsed lasers.

Dynamic analysis of V-folded cavity for TEM00 operation of end-pumped solid-state laser

Based on graphic analysis design method of optical resonator, a simple design expression of V-folded cavity of end-pumped solid-state lasers with TEM00 operation is described, which satisfies two criterias of the resonator design. We give numerical simulation of spot size as a function of thermal focal length using this design approach whose advantages are validated experimentally.

Comparison of Yb-doped fiber laser with one-end and double-end pumping configuration

A high-power Ytterbium-doped fiber laser (YDFL) with homemade double clad fiber (DCF) is introduced in this paper. The output power characteristics of a linear cavity fiber laser have been studied theoretically by solving the rate equations and experimentally tested with single- and double-end-pumping configurations. When both ends of the fiber are pumped by two high-power laser diodes with a launched power of similar to 300 W each, a maximum CW output of 444 W is obtained with a slope efficiency of similar to 75%. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Room-temperature cw and pulsed operation of a diode-end-pumped Tm:YAP laser

We report the continuous-wave and acousto-optical Q-switched operation of a diode-end-pumped Tm:YAP laser. Continuous-wave output power of 3.5 W at 1.99 mu m was obtained under the absorbed pump power of 14 W. Under Q-switched laser operation, the average output power increased from 1.57 W to 2.0 W, with an absorbed pump power of 12.6 W, as the repetition rate increased from 1 kHz to 10 kHz. The maximum Q-switched pulse energy was 1.57 mJ with a repetition rate of 1 kHz. The minimum pulse width was measured to be about 80 ns, corresponding to a peak power of 19.6 kW.

Judd-Oflet analysis of spectrum and laser performance of Ho:YAP crystal end-pumped by 1.91-mu m Tm:YLF laser

The Ho:YAP crystal is grown by the Czochralski technique. The room-temperature polarized absorption spectra of Ho:YAP crystal was measured on a c-cut sample with 1 at% holmium. According to the obtained Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters Omega(2) = 1.42 x 10(-20) cm(2), Omega(4) = 2.92 x 10(-20) cm(2), and Omega(6) = 1.71 x 10(-20) cm(2), this paper calculated the fluorescence lifetime to be 6 ms for I-5(7) -> I-5(8) transition, and the integrated emission cross section to be 2.24 x 10(-18) cm(2). It investigates the room-temperature Ho:YAP laser end-pumped by a 1.91-mu m Tm:YLF laser. The maximum output power was 4.1 W when the incident 1.91-mu m pump power was 14.4W. The slope efficiency is 40.8%, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 28.4%. The Ho:YAP output wavelength was centred at 2118 nm with full width at half maximum of about 0.8 nm.

The conventional facade solution during the developmental period in Gipuzkoa: decline (and end) of a construction system

The article analyses the construction process, the evolution and the disturbing future of the facade enclosure of the collective housing constructions built during the developmental period in the province of Gipuzkoa. 128 residential complexes were checked, and 17 people who directly took part in the construction of many of these buildings were interviewed. After examining the material and elements that make up the conventional facade solution used in Gipuzkoa and in much of Spain not only during those years but also up to the present time, the effects and causes of its main damages and flaws were studied. Its complex and costly adaptation to current demands is going to require a strong effort from society at large, and this raises the question of whether the life cycle of this construction system should be terminated once and for all.