The recent emergence of high performance semiconductor laser diodes and diode arrays emitting at wavelengths between 630 and 2300 nm has enabled the demonstration of several novel diode-pumped solid state laser materials. Narrowly, laser diode arrays may be viewed as simple replacements for conventional flash or arc lamp pumps in solid state lasers. The examples discussed in this paper illustrate that laser diode array pumps are considerably more versatile, enabling novel high performance lasers that are technically not feasible using conventional flashlamps. Additionally, several relatively new nonlinear optical materials, possessing high nonlinearities and excellent phase-matching properties, offer good prospects for the development of efficient, compact, wavelength-diverse all-solid-state laser sources.

Date Published: 24 June 1993
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 1848, 24th Annual Boulder Damage Symposium Proceedings -- Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 1992, (24 June 1993); doi: 10.1117/12.147388

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1848:
24th Annual Boulder Damage Symposium Proceedings -- Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 1992
Harold E. Bennett; Lloyd L. Chase; Arthur H. Guenther; Brian Emerson Newnam; M. J. Soileau, Editor(s)