APPLIED PHYSICS B-LASERS AND OPTICS, v. 85, No. 4, Page. 539-543
Abstract
We report a highly-efficient, high-power, single-frequency Nd:YVO4 master-oscillator power-amplifier with near-diffraction-limited output beam quality. A diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 ring laser incorporating a passive method for suppressing axial-mode-hopping was employed as the master-oscillator, and was amplified by a three-stage diode-end-pumped Nd:YVO4 amplifier, yielding 79 W of output with an extraction efficiency of 29%. The overall power gain was 15 dB for an input power from the master-oscillator of 2.4 W, and the M-2 parameter was less than 1.5 at the maximum power. The prospects for a further increase of power and brightness via this approach are considered.