Continuous-wave operation of a diamond Raman laser is demonstrated. Low-birefringence synthetic single-crystal diamond is used and is intracavity pumped by a Nd:YVO(4) laser. A cw output power of 200 mW is achieved at the Raman wavelength (1240 nm), and 1.6 W of on-time output power is obtained in quasi-cw mode. Losses in the diamond (approximately 1% per pass) and thermal effects in the Nd:YVO(4) limit the efficiency.

Low-birefringence ( n<2x10 6 ), low-loss (absorption coefficient <0.006cm1 at 1064nm), single-crystal, synthetic diamond has been exploited in a CW Raman laser. The diamond Raman laser was intracavity pumped within a Nd:YVO 4 laser. At the Raman laser wavelength of 1240nm, CW output powers of 1.6W and a slope efficiency with respect to the absorbed diode-laser pump power (at 808nm) of ~18% were measured. In quasi-CW operation, maximum on-time output powers of 2.8W (slope efficiency ~24%) were observed, resulting in an absorbed diode-laser pump power to the Raman laser output power conversion efficiency of 13%. References and links ©2011 Optical Society of America

21, 2011; revised February 22, 2011; accepted February 22, 2011; posted February 25, 2011 (Doc. ID 141410); published March 18, 2011A KGdðWO 4 Þ 2 Raman laser was pumped within the cavity of a cw diode-pumped InGaAs semiconductor disk laser (SDL). The Raman laser threshold was reached for 5:6 W of absorbed diode pump power, and output power up to 0:8 W at 1143 nm, with optical conversion efficiency of 7.5% with respect to the absorbed diode pump power, was demonstrated. Tuning the SDL resulted in tuning of the Raman laser output between 1133 and 1157 nm.

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Low birefringence synthetic single-crystal diamond was used as a Raman laser medium inside a Q-switched Nd:YVO(4) laser. A maximum average output power of 375 mW was achieved at a wavelength of 1240 nm and a repetition rate of 6.3 kHz. This equates to a conversion efficiency of 4% from the diode laser to the first Stokes component at 1240 nm. Optical losses within the diamond (approximately 1% per single pass) limited the performance and are currently the main barrier to the demonstration of an efficient CW diamond Raman laser.