A high power, tunable, arc-lamp pumped Nd-doped lanthanum-hexaluminate laser

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Abstract
An LNA (Nd-doped lanthanum-hexaluminate) crystal has been pumped with a cw, krypton arc lamp in a commercial Nd:YAG cavity. The cw output power greater than 6 W is obtained in a 28-cm long, plane mirror cavity. The free-running wavelength is near 1083 nm and has a width of about 0.8 nm. Inserting a 0.25 mm thick, uncoated solid etalon in the cavity permits the laser output to be continuously tuned from 1082 to 1084 nm by tilting the etalon. The laser bandwidth is reduced to below 0.016 nm. Over 3 W are obtained at the helium resonance transition. The maximum power output is limited by severe thermal lensing effects in the LNA crystal. The single, arc-lamp pump is operated at less than 70% of its maximum rated current; thus, substantial increases in the power output can be expected if crystal quality can be improved.