Heat, fluorescence, and stimulated-emission power densities and fractions in Nd:YAG

We present a comprehensive theory describing the CW balance of heat and fluorescence powers in Nd:YAG and discuss the individual and total heat, fluorescence, and stimulated-emission fractions of the absorbed power, with or without stimulated emission, and as a function of the Nd doping density. /spl chi/ values are presented for both CW and pulsed diode pumping. It is shown that heating due to multiphonon emission and concentration quenching alone cannot account for recent CW measurements of the heat fraction, but that upconversion appears to be a negligible effect.

[1]  W. Krupke.  Radiative transition probabilities within the 4 f 3 ground configuration of Nd:YAG , 1971 .

[2]  R. Buser,et al.  Decay kinetics of (4)F(3/2) fluorescence of Nd(+3) in YAG at room temperature. , 1981, Applied optics.

[3]  Stephen A. Payne,et al.  Direct measurements of the terminal laser level lifetime in neodymium-doped crystals and glasses , 1995 .

[4]  D. Rockwell,et al.  Measurements of heating and energy storage in flashlamp-pumped Nd:YAG and Nd-doped phosphate laser glasses , 1986 .

[5]  J. Caird,et al.  Measurements of losses and lasing efficiency in GSGG:Cr,Nd and YAG:Nd laser rods. , 1986, Applied optics.

[6]  J. Geusic,et al.  Laser Transition Cross Section and Fluorescence Branching Ratio for Nd 3+ in Yttrium Aluminum Garnet , 1968 .

[7]  Walter Koechner,et al.  Solid-State Laser Engineering , 1976 .

[8]  Yag Rod.  Measurements of Heating and Energy Storage in Diode-Pumped Nd : YAG , 1990 .

[9]  M. S. Bowers,et al.  Scaling CW diode-end-pumped Nd:YAG lasers to high average powers , 1992 .

[10]  L. G. DeShazer,et al.  Nd:YAG quantum efficiency and related radiative properties , 1989 .

[11]  David C. Brown,et al.  Methods For Scaling High Average Power Laser Performance , 1986, Photonics West - Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering.

[12]  V. Lupei,et al.  Energy transfer between Nd3+ ions in YAG , 1986 .

[13]  G. J. Dixon,et al.  Efficient GaAlAs diode-laser-pumped operation of Nd: YLF at 1.047 Mum with intracavity doubling to 523.6 nm. , 1986, Optics letters.

[14]  B. Aull,et al.  Vibronic interactions in Nd:YAG resulting in nonreciprocity of absorption and stimulated emission cross sections , 1982 .

[15]  T. Fan.  Heat generation in Nd:YAG and Yb:YAG , 1993 .

[16]  D. Rockwell,et al.  Energy storage and heating measurements in flashlamp-pumped Cr:Nd:GSGG and Nd:YAG , 1988 .

[17]  I. A. Scherbakov,et al.  Interaction of excited Cr3+ ions in laser crystals , 1991 .

[18]  H. Weber,et al.  Effective cross section of the Nd:YAG 1.0641‐μm laser transition , 1987 .

[19]  David C. Brown.  Ultrahigh-average-power diode-pumped Nd:YAG and Yb:YAG lasers , 1997 .

[20]  Larry G. DeShazer,et al.  Novel neodymium hosts , 1992 .

[21]  J. Unternahrer,et al.  The slab geometry laser - Part I: Theory , 1984, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

[22]  Raymond J. Beach,et al.  Characterization of the heat loading of Nd-doped YAG, YOS, YLF, and GGG excited at diode pumping wavelengths , 1995 .

[23]  A. Rosencwaig,et al.  Nd/sup 3 +/ fluorescence quantum-efficiency measurements with photoacoustics , 1981 .

[24]  A. McInnes,et al.  Thermal effects in a coplanar-pumped folded-zigzag slab laser , 1996 .

[25]  L. Deshazer,et al.  Evidence of Nd:YAG quantum efficiency dependence on nonequivalent crystal field effects , 1983 .

[26]  John A. Caird,et al.  Spectroscopic, optical, and thermomechanical properties of neodymium- and chromium-doped gadolinium scandium gallium garnet , 1986 .

[27]  M. Birnbaum,et al.  Laser emission cross section of Nd:YAG at 1064 nm , 1981 .