VCSEL侧面抽运的全固态激光器

VCSEL Side-Pumped All Solid-State Lasers

研究了一种VCSEL(垂直腔表面发射激光器)侧面抽运的全固态激光器,报道了一种可以稳定工作的紧凑型Nd\:YAG激光器。该激光器采用VCSEL阵列进行侧面抽运,利用微透镜阵列对VCSEL阵列进行准直,并以柱透镜将抽运光整形为线形光束以获得足够高的功率密度,以Cr^(4+)\:YAG作为可饱和吸收体进行被动调Q,最终得到重复频率为40 Hz、脉宽为4 ns及单脉冲能量为2.1 mJ的激光输出。测试结果表明,该激光器在较大的温度范围内都可以实现稳定的激光输出,同时具有结构紧凑、高抗失谐和高抗振动的特性,可作为未来空间激光探测及其他特殊环境下应用的光源。

A kind of vertical-cavity surface-emitter laser （VCSEL） side-pumped all solid-state laser is studied. A compact and stable Nd：YAG solid-state laser is reported. The laser is side-pumped by VCSEL arrays, and the VCSEL arrays are collimated by microlens array. A cylindrical lens is used to reshape the pump beam into a linear beam to achieve high power density. Besides, the Cr^4＋： YAG crystal is used as saturable absorber to be the passive Q-switch. The laser output with 40 Hz repetition frequency, 4 ns pulse width and single pulse energy of 2.1 mJ is obtained. The experimental results show that the laser can achieve stable laser output in a large temperature range. The laser has a compact structure and high resistance to detuning and vibration. It can be used as a light source for future space laser detection and other special environments.