Efficient and high-power laser-diode single-end-pumped Nd:YVO₄ continuous wave laser at 1342nm

A compact, efficient and high-power laser diode (LD) single-end-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser with continuous-wave emission at 1342 nm is reported. With a single crystal single-end-pumped by fibre-coupled LD array, an output power of 7.36W is obtained from the laser cavity of concave-convex shape, corresponding to an optical-to-optical efficiency of 32.8%. The laser is operated in TEM₀₀ mode with small rms amplitude noise of 0.3%. The influences of the Nd concentration, transmissivity of the output mirror and the cavity length on the output power have been studied experimentally.