YAG LASER END AND SIDE-PUMPED BY A LASER-DIODE

A combined end and side pump approach for a YAG laser pumped by a lase r diode is proposed. The theoretical analysis of the total pump effici ency of the end and side pump module is presented. A laser-diode-pumpe d YAG laser is successfully demonstrated by use of this pump configura tion. The experimental pump threshold is 81.2 mJ, the maximum output i s 4.4 mJ, and the optical efficiency is approximately 3.1% for Q-switc hed operation of the YAG laser. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.