Highly efficient Nd3+:LaB3O6 cleavage microchip laser -: art. no. 103104

The improvement of the laser performances of an unprocessed 5.6 at. % Nd3+:LaB3O6 cleavage microchip has been reported. Pumped by a Ti:sapphire laser at 871 nm, quasi-cw output laser power up to 395 mW around 1060 nm wavelength with slope efficiency near 52% has been obtained in an end-pumped plano-plano resonator. The influence of the ratio between the cavity mode and pump beam area on the laser performances and laser spectra at various output powers has been investigated. The experimental results have shown that the cleavage technique can become a practical and effective method to obtain the microchip laser medium easily and directly. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.