Nd:YLF laser at cryogenic temperature with orthogonally polarized simultaneous emission at 1047 nm and 1053 nm

Abstract

A Nd:YLF laser at cryogenic temperature is demonstrated for the first time with orthogonally polarized simultaneous emission at 1047 nm and 1053 nm. By exploring the temperature dependence of the fluorescence and the absorption spectra from the Nd: YLF crystal, the feasibility of simultaneous emission at low temperature is achieved. Due to the local heating from the pump absorption, the optimal temperature with respect to the pump power for balancing output powers of simultaneous emission is thoroughly explored. At the optimal temperature of 138 K, the total output power of the simultaneous emission can reach 3.1 W at an incident pump power of 7.9 W, corresponding to the optical to optical slope efficiency up to 43%. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America