Abstract

Although diode pumping of Nd:YAG lasers has been an area of active investigation for many years, developments continue to occur which show promise for a wide range of laser applications. In principle, any neodymium host laser which can be lamp pumped can also be diode pumped and generally an improvement in laser size, weight, and efficiency can be expected. In practice, diode pumping has been limited to relatively low-power Nd:YAG lasers due to cost, diode quality, and packaging constraints. Potential cost reductions in the GaAIAs wafer growth and pump array fabrication could make this technology competitive with lamp pumping for many applications requiring long life, high efficiency, and compact design.

© 1985 Optical Society of America