DIODE-PUMPED IR SOLID-STATE LASERS

The possibilities of construction and application of laser diode-pumped solid-state lasers are described. The wavelength of the most powerful available diodes is well suited for the excitation of trivalent rare earth ions such as Nd3+, Tm3+ and Er3+ in crystal or glass hosts. The resulting emission of the solid-state lasers is suitable for metal machining or for medical applications. The main problem is a suitable beam shaping of the laser diode array in order to achieve a good overlap of pump mode and laser mode. The chosen solution of beam shaping strongly influences the geometry of the solid state laser resonator. Different examples developed at our institute will be described.