Watt-level diode-pumped continuous-wave Pr:LiYF₄ laser at 670  nm and simultaneous dual-wavelength operation at 639 and 670  nm

Abstract

We report on blue-diode-pumped continuous-wave P r : L i Y F 4 (YLF) visible lasers involving a less investigated 670 nm laser emission. In the free-running regime, a simultaneous dual-wavelength operation at 670 and 639 nm is achieved with a maximum output power of 1.67 W and a slope efficiency of 20.4%. Using a Y 3 A l 5 O 12 (YAG) plate as an intracavity etalon, we have suppressed the 639 nm emission, and then a single-wavelength laser at 670 nm has been achieved with a maximum output power of 0.96 W and slope efficiency of 12.7%. The directly generated 670 nm laser source from Pr:YLF crystal with watt-level output power has advantages over diode laser or frequency-doubled N d : Y V O 4 lasers operating at a similar laser wavelength, which could be used in biomedical technologies.

Optimization of the overlap efficiency factor for power scaling in visible Pr:YLF laser at 607 nm pumped by fiber-coupled GaN laser diodes

“…As one of the Pr3+ doped crystals, Pr:YLF crystals 3 – 5 have primarily been applied to visible lasers due to their small phonon energy. Orange lasers have a wide range of applications in the biomedicine field, 6 the deep-sea exploration, 7 the confocal fluorescence microscopy with high spatial resolution, 8 and laser material processing 9 . So far, many research institutions have achieved blue-diode-pumped Pr3+ lasers operated at different wavelengths based on Pr:YLF crystal 10 …”

Watt-level laser operation of Pr3+:YLF at 696 and 698 nm

“…Fluoride crystals have lower crystal field strength and phonon energy compared to oxides, which have greater potential for the development of laser operation. As one of the most common materials for visible lasers, the Pr 3 :LiYF 4 (YLF) crystal has been shown to feature excellent optics, reasonable mechanical properties, and is a well-known laser gain medium with abundant laser transitions in the visible spectral region [16][17][18][19][20][21] .…”