High energy and high conversion efficiency Tm-based /KGW Raman laser in the SWIR spectral range

Yaakov N.; Nachmen G.; Daniel S.; Rotem N.; Eytan P.; Uzziel S.; Salman N.

doi:10.1117/12.3000718

12 March 2024 High energy and high conversion efficiency Tm-based /KGW Raman laser in the SWIR spectral range

Yaakov N., Nachmen G., Daniel S., Rotem N., Eytan P., Uzziel S., Salman N.

Proceedings Volume 12869, Nonlinear Frequency Generation and Conversion: Materials and Devices XXIII; 128690G (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3000718
Event: SPIE LASE, 2024, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

For many years, the KGW Raman crystal has been widely used as a Raman gain medium for lasers in the visible spectrum. This paper presents recent advancements in SWIR Raman lasers, successfully implementing the KGW crystal as the gain medium in the SWIR spectral range. The KGW Raman gain coefficient is inversely proportional to the wavelength, potentially lowering the efficacy for longer wavelengths. However, the high damage threshold (exceeding 10 GW/cm²), a decent thermal conductivity coefficient as well as a highly integrated scattering cross-section effectively overcome this challenge. This paper summarizes results of different Tm based/KGW Raman lasers in external cavity configurations. Due to the KGW bi-axial properties, the Raman laser emits two discrete shifted wavelengths. The first system used a Tm:YLF pump laser and was actively Q-switched, producing short pulses of 5.4 ns. The system was the first demonstration of SWIR Raman lasing using a KGW gain medium. The second configuration used a Tm:YAP pump source and was successfully passively Q-switched using a Cr:ZnS SA resulting in output energies of 340 μJ/pulse and 450 μJ/pulse for the respective Raman wavelengths. The third Raman laser achieved a record maximum energy per pulse of 2.08 mJ for the 901 cm⁻¹ Stokes shift utilizing a passively Q-switched Tm:YLF pump laser. To the best of our knowledge, these results present a successful demonstration of SWIR Raman conversion using KGW as the Raman gain medium, along with significant advancements in terms of conversion efficiencies and energy per pulse.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Yaakov N., Nachmen G., Daniel S., Rotem N., Eytan P., Uzziel S., and Salman N. "High energy and high conversion efficiency Tm-based /KGW Raman laser in the SWIR spectral range", Proc. SPIE 12869, Nonlinear Frequency Generation and Conversion: Materials and Devices XXIII, 128690G (12 March 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3000718

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