Efficient neodymium-doped gadolinium gallium garnet crystal laser

An investigation was made of the stimulated emission parameters of a laser utilizing a gadolinium gallium garnet crystal doped with neodymium ions (YAG:Nd) at the 1.062 μm wavelength. The free-running efficiency was the highest so far achieved for flashlamp-pumped lasers utilizing unsensitized garnets. For an active element 8 mm in diameter and 120 mm long the absolute efficiency was 5.4% and the differential efficiency was 5.9%. The average free-running power was 170 W. A comparison was made of the optical powers of thermal lenses in cylindrical GGG:Nd and YAG:Nd active elements and this was found to be 2.4 times higher for a GGG:Nd crystal at the same pump powers. It was shown that by using traditional methods of compensating for the thermal lens in cylindrical active elements, it is possible to develop pulsed GGG:Nd crystal lasers having an average output power higher than 100 W, an efficiency of ~ 4%, and an angular divergence of less than 10 mrad.