Diode-pumped solid-state laser
As waste energy is limited by the thermal lens this means higher power densities compared to high-intensity discharge lamps.Low divergence allows paraxial optics, which is cheaper, and which is used to not only generate a spot, but a long beam waist inside the laser crystal (length = 50 mm), which is to be pumped through its end faces.Also in the paraxial case it is much easier to use gold or copper mirrors or glass prisms to stack the spots on top of each other, and get a 5 x 5 mm beam profile.A powerful (>200 mW) 808 nm wavelength infrared GaAlAs laser diode pumps a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) or a neodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadate (Nd:YVO4) crystal which produces 1064 nm wavelength light from the main spectral transition of neodymium ion.Thus, high-power DPSSLs generally have a larger beam diameter, as the 1064 nm laser is expanded before it reaches the KTP crystal, reducing the irradiance from the infrared light.In order to maintain a lower beam diameter, a crystal with a higher damage threshold, such as lithium triborate (LBO), is used instead.To date, high power diode laser locking schemes such as internal distributed feedback Bragg gratings and externally aligned volume holographic grating optics, VHG’s, have not been widely implemented due to the increased cost and assumed performance penalty of the technology.However, recent advancements in the manufacture of stabilized diode pump sources which utilize external wavelength locking now offer improved spectral properties with little-to-no impact on power and efficiency.
solid-state laserpumpinggain mediumcrystallaser diodeion lasersflashlamp-pumped laserslaser pointersenergy efficiencythermal lenshigh-intensity discharge lampscylindricalimagedoptical fiberwavelengthlaser pointerinfraredGaAlAsyttrium aluminium garnetneodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadateneodymiumnonlinear opticallithium triboratebeta barium boratehygroscopicoptical drivesBibcodeSolid-state lasersSemiconductor laserGd:YAGgain mediaRuby laserYttrium iron garnetTerbium gallium garnetTi:sapphire laserSolid-state dye laserYttrium lithium fluorideNeodymium-doped yttrium lithium fluorideYttrium orthovanadateFiber laserFigure-8 laserDisk laserF-centerTrident laserZEUS-HLONS (HMMWV Laser Ordnance Neutralization System)Nova (laser)Cyclops laserJanus laserArgus laserShiva laserLaboratory for Laser EnergeticsLaser MégajouleLULI2000Mercury laserISKRA-6Vulcan laserList of petawatt lasers