Efficient corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab laser

A corner-pumped type is a new pumping type in the diode-pumped all-solid-state lasers, which has the advantages of high pump efficiency and favourable pump uniformity. A highly efficient corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab laser is demonstrated in this paper. The maximal continuous-wave output power of the 1064 nm laser is up to 18.57 W with a slope efficiency and an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 44.9% and 39.8%, respectively. Inserting an acousto-optic Q-switch in the cavity, the highest average output power of the quasi-continuous wave 1064 nm laser of 6.73 W is obtained at a repetition rate of 9.26 kHz. The experimental results show that a corner-pumped type is a kind of feasible schedules in the design of diode-pumped all-solid-state lasers with low or medium output powers.