High power generation of adaptive laser beams in a Nd:YVO4 MOPA system

Abstract

We report efficient power scaling of the laser output with an adaptive beam profile from an Nd:YAG dual-cavity master oscillator using a three-stage end-pumped Nd:YVO4 amplifier. We succeed in the fast switching of an excited laser mode by modulating an acousto-optic modulator loss in a dual-cavity master oscillator, thereby achieving temporal modulation of the output beam profile. The outputs from the master oscillator are amplified via a three-stage power amplifier yielding 36.6, 40.5, and 45.4 W of the maximum output at 116.8 W of incident pump power for the transverse electromagnetic, Laguerre-Gaussian, and quasi-top-hat beam, respectively. The prospects for further power scaling and applications via the dual-cavity master-oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) system are considered.