Conical refraction Nd:KGd(WO4)(2) laser

TY - JOUR

T1 - Conical refraction Nd:KGd(WO4)(2) laser

AU - Abdolvand, Amin

AU - Wilcox, Keith G.

AU - Kalkandjiev, Todor K.

AU - Rafailov, Edik U.

PY - 2010/2/1

Y1 - 2010/2/1

N2 - In 1832 Hamilton predicted conical refraction, concluding that if a beam propagates along an optic axis of a biaxial crystal, a hollow cone of light will emerge. Nearly two centuries on, cascade conical refraction involving multiple crystals has not been investigated. We empirically investigate a unique two-crystal configuration, and use this to demonstrate an ultra-efficient conical refraction Nd:KGd(WO4)(2) laser providing multi-watt output with excellent beam quality independent of resonator design with a slope efficiency close to the theoretical maximum, offering a new route for power and brightness-scaling in solid-state bulk lasers. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

AB - In 1832 Hamilton predicted conical refraction, concluding that if a beam propagates along an optic axis of a biaxial crystal, a hollow cone of light will emerge. Nearly two centuries on, cascade conical refraction involving multiple crystals has not been investigated. We empirically investigate a unique two-crystal configuration, and use this to demonstrate an ultra-efficient conical refraction Nd:KGd(WO4)(2) laser providing multi-watt output with excellent beam quality independent of resonator design with a slope efficiency close to the theoretical maximum, offering a new route for power and brightness-scaling in solid-state bulk lasers. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

KW - LIGHT-BEAMS

KW - DIFFRACTION

U2 - 10.1364/OE.18.002753

DO - 10.1364/OE.18.002753

M3 - Article

SN - 1094-4087

VL - 18

SP - 2753

EP - 2759

JO - Optics Express

JF - Optics Express

IS - 3

ER -