Ten deep blue to cyan emission lines from an intracavity frequency converted Raman laser

Abstract

Here we report on the generation of ten deep blue to cyan laser emission lines using an intracavity frequency converted Raman laser. The fundamental laser field of the intracavity Raman laser is based on the 3 level transition of a Nd:YLF laser crystal, providing a short wavelength at 903 or 908 nm. When combined with generation of a Stokes shifted field via intracavity stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) by a KGW Raman crystal, enables generation of laser emission in the deep blue to cyan wavelength regime via additional nonlinear frequency conversion. Output at several blue-green wavelengths was achieved, with quasi continuous wave (qcw) output powers of up to 1W. A detailed study of the spectral behavior of the underlying Raman laser processes revealed strong spectral broadening of the fundamental laser line at 908 nm to a width of up to 4 nm. The effect of the spectral broadening on the overall laser efficiency is analyzed.