Microchip laser: a comparison between gradient-index lens and ball-lens for pump-laser diode coupling

Abstract Ball-lenses may noticeably simplify optical device assembling due to their symmetry suppressing any rotation alignment. Moreover, as they can be very small as less than 1 mm, they may help to improve optical device compactness. This paper compares the performances of ball-lenses to a usually used gradient-index lens for pump-laser diode coupling in a microchip laser device. It appears that, while simplifying the assembling and improving the compactness, the use of small ball-lenses improves also the coupling performance.

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