High power single-longitudinal-mode Ho:YLF unidirectional ring laser based on a composite structure of acousto-optic device and wave plate

• Published in: Infrared physics & technology Vol. 82; pp. 40 - 43
• Main Authors: Dai, T.Y., Fan, Z.G., Wu, J., Ju, Y.L., Yao, B.Q., Zhang, Z.G., Teng, K., Xu, X.G., Duan, X.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-05-2017
• Subjects: Ho:YLF laser; Single-longitudinal-mode operation; Unidirectional ring laser; Single-longitudinal-mode operation; Unidirectional ring laser; Ho:YLF laser
• ISSN: 1350-4495; 1879-0275
• DOI: 10.1016/j.infrared.2017.01.025

•A 3.73W Ho:YLF laser operating on single-longitudinal-mode is reported.•Acousto-optic device and wave plate are used to achieve unidirectional operation.•A unidirectional single-longitudinal-mode Ho:YLF ring laser is reported for the first time.
We report a unidirectional single-longitudinal-mode Ho:YLF ring laser. An acousto-optic modulator and two half-wave plates were used to enforce the Ho:YLF ring laser in a unidirectional operation. The single-longitudinal-mode output power could reach 3.73W successfully when the incident pump power was 16.4W. The corresponding slope efficiency was 27.1%. The wavelength of the single-longitudinal-mode Ho:YLF ring laser was 2063.8nm. The M2 factor was 1.12. The results illustrated that the single-longitudinal-mode output power could be further enhanced by increasing the radio frequency power of the acousto-optic modulator.