Abstract

In this paper, we present the measurement of the Nd fluorescence decay lifetimes in Nd doped lithium niobate and lithium tantalate. In proton exchanged waveguide we studied the influence of the proton concentration on this lifetime and we show that, in some cases, proton exchange drastically reduces this important parameter for laser oscillation. Finally, we present a Nd:LiTaO₃ waveguide laser whose threshold is on the order of 40 mW, this high threshold is largely explained by the excited state lifetime reduction.

© 1993 Optical Society of America