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20 W single longitudinal mode Nd:YVO4 retro-reflection ring laser operated as a self-intersecting master oscillator power amplifier

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Abstract

We demonstrate the stable operation of a 20 W single longitudinal mode TEM00 Nd:YVO4 ring laser at 1064 nm. Unidirectionality of 2500:1 was imposed through retro-reflection of one of the output arms. An additional extra-cavity pass of the intra-cavity gain medium, in a self-intersecting master oscillator power amplifier setup, is shown to improve the stable TEM00 operation power from ≈15 to 20.0 W. The spatial quality improvement involves splitting of the gain region into oscillator and amplifier sections leading to enhanced fundamental mode selection. It is believed that the segregation is, at least in part, self-organising.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK

    P. C. Shardlow & M. J. Damzen

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  1. P. C. Shardlow
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  2. M. J. Damzen
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Correspondence to P. C. Shardlow.

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Shardlow, P.C., Damzen, M.J. 20 W single longitudinal mode Nd:YVO4 retro-reflection ring laser operated as a self-intersecting master oscillator power amplifier. Appl. Phys. B 97, 257–262 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-009-3641-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-009-3641-6

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