This paper presents the design of a Compact High Power Diode Array Pumped Nd:CNGG laser employing cusp geometry concentrator for optical coupling in the side pumped configuration. The design addresses two major issues that influence the performance of a Diode Pumped Solid State Laser i.e. choice of suitable laser material and optical coupling scheme. The design employs an Nd:CNGG rod of (phi) 3mm X 10mm dimension, fluid cooled through coaxial flow tube of 5mm diameter. Light from a Quasi-CW laser diode array stack of 2 cm X 1 cm dimension is coupled through a cusp geometry concentrator of 18mm aperture. The system is capable of generating a high average power of approximately 30W at an input of 800W peak power. Optimum performance of the system has been compared with that of Nd:YAG laser operating under similar conditions. Nd:CNGG is found to be more efficient at higher input energies.

Date Published: 4 November 1999
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 3898, Photonic Systems and Applications in Defense and Manufacturing, (4 November 1999); doi: 10.1117/12.368468

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3898:
Photonic Systems and Applications in Defense and Manufacturing
Yee Loy Lam; Koji Ikuta; Metin S. Mangir, Editor(s)