Nd 3+:Y 3Al 5O 12 laser ceramics: Flashlamp pumped laser operation with a UV cut filter

Abstract

A Nd 3+:Y 3Al 5O 12 ceramic laser under the hard-UV cutting condition of Xe flashlamp pumping was demonstrated for the first time. By using a 16.4 kW Xe flashlamp and a samarium-doped flow tube, an average laser output power of 386 W was obtained at 1064 nm with a 1.1 at.% Nd 3+:Y 3Al 5O 12 ceramic rod of Ø10 mm × 152 mm. The slope efficiency was measured to be 2.3%, which was the same as for a Nd 3+:Y 3Al 5O 12 single crystal rod of similar size. The degradation of output power by the solarization effect was found to be negligible when the UV radiation below 350 nm wavelength was cut by a Sm:glass flow tube.