Abstract

End pumping of solid-state lasers by single semiconductor laser diode arrays (LDAs) is efficient,^1–3 but the maximum pump power is limited by the source brightness and matching the TEM₀₀ Nd:YAG cavity mode. To increase the output power from a solid-state Nd:YAG laser, one option is to employ a multiplicity of LDA to provide more pump power than is available from a single source. We report herein a 660-mW cw TEM₀₀ Nd:YAG laser, end-pumped by seven LDA, with bundled optical fibers coupling the light from each diode to the Nd:YAG rod end. The maximum electrical-to-optical conversion efficiency attained was 4.7% at 560-mW Nd:YAG output power.

© 1988 Optical Society of America