A Continuous Wave (CW) Ceramic Nd:YAG Laser Emitting at 1112 nm Wavelength
H-N. Zhang, P. Li, Q-P. Wang, B-M. Ma and X-H. Chen
A diode-pumped Nd:YAG ceramic laser operating at 1112 nm was demonstrated for the first time. Two different Nd:YAG ceramic rods with the Nd-doped concentration of 1.0 and 0.6 at.% and a Nd:YAG signal crystal with the Nd-doped concentration of 1.0 at.% were used as the laser gain mediums, respectively. When the pumped power was 18.6 W, an output power of 3.37 W was obtained, corresponding to the maximum optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 18.1% with the 1.0 at.% Nd-doped ceramic rod. The laser performance of the other rods was studied as a comparison.
Keywords: Ceramic Nd:YAG laser, continuous wave (CW), 1112 nm, concaveplane cavity, Nd-doped, ceramic rod, optical-to-optical conversion efficiency