Highly efficient Nd:Gd(0.6)Y(0.4)VO(4) laser by direct in-band pumping at 914 nm and observation of self-mode-locked operation

Abstract

A highly efficient Nd:Gd(0.6)Y(0.4)VO(4) laser by direct in-band pumping at 914 nm is demonstrated for the first time. With an absorbed power of 3.7 W, a maximum output power of 2.65 W at 1064 nm was obtained, corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 72%. We also experimentally observed that the laser system could be efficiently operated in the self-mode-locked state in the range of 0.9-3.3 GHz. The pulse width was measured to be 16 ps at a repetition rate of 1.75 GHz.