Abstract
Overall electrical efficiency is an important consideration for lasers operating in an environment in which primary power is limited. For laser-pumped lasers the overall electrical efficiency ηe is determined by the product of the electrical-to-optical conversion efficiency of the pump laser ηp, the efficiency of the relay optics used to transport the optical pump flux to the laser gain element ηt, and the optical conversion efficiency ηo. For cw dye lasers, ηo, which is the ratio of laser output power to incident pump power, can exceed 30%. However, the electrical efficiency of the pump laser is generally quite low. For ion lasers, ηp is typically 0.05%, exclusive of cooling. One method of producing higher ηp. is to pump with a cw, laser diode pumped, doubled Nd:YAG laser. However, the cost per watt of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser is substantially higher than that of an ion laser.
© 1995 Optical Society of America
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