High average power Nd:YVO 4 regenerative amplifier seeded by a gain switched diode laser

Non-Pulse-Leakage 100-kHz Level, High Beam Quality Industrial Grade Nd:YVO4 Picosecond Amplifier

“…However, so far there is not one kind of electro-optic crystal or configuration the can provide a general solution under different operating wavelengths, repetition rates, spot diameters, and output powers. At present, BBO crystal Pockels cells with minimal piezoelectric ringing and low acoustic noise, have emerged in high repetition rate (>100 kHz) pulse picking applications [14][15][16][17]19]. Nevertheless, with the increase of repetition rate, it is difficult to realize fast switching within the effective duty cycle due to the long fall time of the high voltage.…”

“…Determined by the parameters of Pockels cell and regenerative cavity, repetition rates from hundreds to mega-Hz have been obtained with output power up to 100 watts. For instance, Nd:YVO 4 picosecond regenerative amplifiers with a repetition rate up to 850 kHz have been demonstrated [14,15]; other broadband gain materials such as Yb:CaF 2 , Yb:CAlGO, Yb:YVO 4 , and Nd:LuVO 4 show up to 1.43 MHz repetition rate [16][17][18]. Currently, Bergmann et al [19] reported the record high repetition rate of 2 MHz for a picosecond regenerative amplifier in Yb:YAG.…”

MHz Repetion Rate Yb:YAG and Yb:CaF2 Regenerative Picosecond Laser Amplifiers with a BBO Pockels Cell

“…Picosecond regenerative amplifiers with high-gain materials such as Nd:YVO 4 have already been demonstrated up to a repetition rate of 850 kHz [8]. Regenerative amplification in broadband gain media such as Yb:CaF 2 and Yb:CAlGO has been shown up to 500 kHz [9] and up to 200 kHz with Yb:YVO 4 [10].…”

Optical Fiber Pumped High Repetition Rate and High Power Nd:YVO4 Picosecond Regenerative Amplifier

“…All fiber picosecond laser has the characteristics of miniaturization and lightweight, however, the peak power of all fiber laser operating in the picosecond regime is limited to the nano-Joule level due to the strong nonlinear effect in high peak power operation. In order to generate OPEN ACCESS stable high peak power regenerative amplifier output, a good way is to combine the fiber picosecond seed source with all solid state regenerative amplification technology [6][7][8].…”

“…For example, the heat capacity and conductivity of Nd:YAG are 0.59 J/(g·K) and 0.13 W/(cm·K), respectively; however, as for Nd:YVO4 are corresponding to 0.79 J/(g·K) and 0.06 W/(cm·K). High local stress can even cause the damage of crystal, which limits the increase of pumping power [9][10][11][12]. In addition, the Nd:YVO4 absorption cross section for π and σ polarizations differ by a factor of 3.7 at 808 nm.…”