Abstract
Optically pumped solid state lasers have been successfully used in various aspects of laser materials processing, communications, medicine, remote sensing and optical recording and playback. Recent rapid progress in high power, narrow band diode laser pump sources has great impacts on the development of new solid state lasers. The first one is the removal of the requirement to have the broad absorption bands to match the flash lamp pump source. Since the laser diode emission can be focused into a very small spot, the size of the active lasing media is greatly reduced. However, the focused beam can deliver so much power that the laser host quickly reaches the thermal fracture strength limit. Thirdly, the emitting wavelength of the laser diodes is still discrete with limited tunability. Matching the absorption to the pump band is essential for high efficiency. Energy transfer with codoping becomes very necessary in many rare earth laser systems. Finally, because of the narrow band pumping, it is now possible to selectively excite a particular absorption line and observe efficient lasing. Multiple sites or disorders with inhomogeneous broadening, in almost all the cases, are hurting rather than helping the lasing performance.
© 1994 Optical Society of America
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