Patent ID: 7813394
Filing Date: 2010-10-12
Classification: H01S

Abstract:
1. A method of producing with high efficiency laser output emission at an output wavelength in response to delivery to a lasing medium optical pumping energy at a pump wavelength, comprising: configuring a lasing medium including a host crystal to produce emission of lasing output energy in response to delivery of optical pumping energy, the host crystal characterized by a laser mode, laser mode size, and polygonal crystal structure with orthogonal crystal lattice axes and doped with laser active ions in an ion doping concentration from about 0.5% at. to about 3.0% at., and the host crystal having a bulk material length set to a value that is sufficient to absorb the optical pumping energy and having a cross sectional area set to a value that is substantially equal to the laser mode size; delivering to the lasing medium the optical pumping energy at a pump wavelength set to a value that establishes a low quantum defect corresponding to a difference between the optical pumping energy and the lasing output energy at an output wavelength; the value to which the pump wavelength is set causing the host crystal at the ion doping concentration to exhibit an energy absorption coefficient of less than 2 cm the value to which the cross sectional area is set suppressing higher order modes to provide the lasing output energy with high quality beam shape.