Optimization of Diode Array Side-Pumped, Passively Q-switched

Yb:Er:glass Laser
Van Tuan Vu, Tuan Anh Nguyen, Van Manh Nguyen, Bao Dong To*
Electro-Optical Center, Viettel High Technology Industries Corporation, Hoa Lac High-tech Park,
Thach That, Hanoi, Vietnam

ABSTRACT

We fabricated a diode array side-pump, passively Q-switched laser for our laser rangefinder system. The 25 mm linear
cavity laser was designed with a rectangular Yb:Er:glass rod as the active element, and a Co:spinel plate as the saturable
absorber. The active element was pumped with two quasi CW 940-nm diode arrays. The pump-to-laser beam overlap
was optimized by attaching the fast axis collimator (FAC) lens on the diode arrays. The design for heat transfer from rod
surface to the ambient medium is also considered in this report. Our laser operates stably at the wavelength of 1535 nm.
The laser pulse energy and pulse width are 1.5 mJ and 4.6 ns, respectively. The repetition rates are tunable from 1 Hz to
10 Hz.
Keywords: Eye-safe, Er–Yb:glass, passively Q-switched, diode array side-pump, laser rangefinder.

1. INTRODUCTION
High peak power nanoseconds Yb:Er:glass lasers are the most popular radiation sources for laser rangefinder system [1-
3]. The drawback of this laser is low thermal conductivity gain medium (0.85 Wm-1K-1). The laser crystal design as
rectangular rod with thermal diffusion bonding is a simple technique to reduce the thermal lensing effect [4]. To achieve
high energy laser, several diode arrays are combined to pump laser gain medium in directions perpendicular to the laser
beam [5]. The fast axis collimation (FAC) is used to focus pump light propagating into gain medium to obtain the best
pump-to-laser beam overlap. The Yb:Er:glass gain medium has broadband absorption in the 850 – 1050 nm range let to
many selections for pump wavelengths [6]. The absorption peak of gain medium is at 975 nm, the most common
selection for pump wavelength is at absorption peak [7]. However, this peak is quite narrow, and the wavelength of laser
diode pumping varies with operating temperature. When the operating temperature of laser diode pumping fluctuates in a
wide range, the absorption pump energy changes, leading to the instability of laser power. The laser rangefinder requires
operation in a wide range of ambient temperature. To keep the operating temperature of laser pumping is less variable is
quite complicated. So, we offend select the laser diode pumping with the absorption is low insensitivity with operating
temperature such as the laser diode with the wavelength of 940 nm [8]. These diode arrays are normally distributed
symmetrically across the laser crystal. The residual pump beam of each diode laser after passing through the active
medium can enter to the cavity of diode laser on the opposite side. If more than 5% of the laser power enter the cavity of
diode laser, it can damage the diode arrays [9]. There are several solutions to protect the diode arrays. The first is
increase divergence of diode array, normally the FAC is not used in this case. The high divergence of diode array will
limit the laser power entering the cavity < 5%. But this method is also reducing the pump-to-laser beam overlap, then
decrease the optical efficiency. The second method is staggered arrangement of diode arrays pairs with the distance
equal to half of emitter pitch. This method is simple for design but complicate for fabrication due to the short emitter
pitch of laser bar (about 0,5 mm). The third methods, that we use in our research, is arrangement of diode arrays pairs
tilted at an angle of 5o to the horizontal plane. The diode arrays pairs are asymmetric, so the residual pump from an
emitter propagate to outside of the cavity of the opposite emitter.
Q-switch laser is useful for generating high peak power and nanosecond pulses base on the modulating intracavity losses
of the laser resonator. The Q-Switched lasers are divided into two categories: Active and Passive. The active Q-switched
typically modulated losses by electrical signal and the laser system are quite complicated. The passively Q-switched
laser system is simpler and more compact with the losses automatically modulated by a saturable absorber. The
Co:Spinel crystals is the most common saturable absorber for the passive Q-switch in a 1.535 µm Er–Yb:glass laser. It
provides low optical loss, high absorption selection, fast recovery time (~350 ns), good thermal conductivity, and high
radiation resistance [10-11].
* [email protected]; phone (+84)944880256; https://viettelhightech.vn/en

Advanced Lasers, High-Power Lasers, and Applications XIV, edited by Jun Liu,
Shibin Jiang, Ingmar Hartl, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 12760, 127600A
© 2023 SPIE · 0277-786X · doi: 10.1117/12.2686326

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 12760 127600A-1

In this research, we present our compact, stable, efficient, and eye-safe laser transmitter. The diode array side-pump and
passively Q-switched techniques were applied to generate the laser with the peak power > 300 kW and the repetition rate
in the range 1 – 10 Hz.

2. LASER SETUP
The laser setup was optimized base on our simulation results. The Yb:Er:glass laser is shown in the Fig.1 (a). The 25
mm linear laser cavity consists of a high reflectivity curved mirror with the radius of curvature is 1.5 m, a Yb:Er:glass
active element, a Co:spinel passively Q switch crystal, and a flat output coupler (R=75%). The Yb:Er:glass rod is
rectangular with the dimensions of 3 mm x 1.5 mm x 10 mm. It is adhered to diffusion bonding which leads to heat
transfer from rod surface to the ambient medium. Two diode arrays attached FAC lens is placed on both side of laser
rod. The diode array has 19 emitters that emit light at the wavelength of 940 nm. The width and pitch of emitter are 100
µm and 500 µm, respectively. We protect the diode arrays from residual pump by arranging two diode arrays tilted at an
angle of 5o to ox direction. The pump beam propagation is simulated by an optical design software (Zemax). Fig. 1 (b)
indicate that no residual pump enters to the emitter areas.

Fig. 1. (a) Scheme of laser setup: HR – high reflectivity mirror, LD – laser diode array, DB – diffusion bonding, Q – passively Q
switch, OC – output coupler. (b) The simulation of pump beam from diode arrays.
Fig. 2 shows the pump beam intensity distribution in the laser rod. The pump beam width is adjusted by varying focus
length of FAC and distance from diode arrays to laser rod. We calculate the laser beam radius by ABCD matrix method.
The pump beam width is the same with laser beam diameter to optimize the pump-to-laser beam overlap.

Fig. 2. The simulation result of laser beam radius inside the cavity. The inset figure is pumping beam intensity distribution in laser rod
with the beam width of 0.56 mm

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 12760 127600A-2

 3. RESULTS AND DICUSSIONS
The fabricated laser operate stably at the laser pulse energy are about 1.5 mJ and the repetition rates are tunable from 1
Hz to 10 Hz as shown in the Fig. 3 (a). The measurement is obtained at room temperature. The pulse energy is slightly
decrease with the increasing of repetition rate due to the enhancement of thermal effect at high repetition rates. The
thermal effect also presents when laser operate at high ambient temperature. The pulse energy reduces about 25% when
the ambient temperature increases from room temperature to 60 0C (Fig. 3 (b).). For the repetition rate from 5 Hz to 10
Hz, the laser operates 50% duty cycle per minute for ambient temperature from 40 °C to 50 °C, and 20% duty cycle per
minute for ambient temperature from 50 °C to 60 °C.

Fig. 3. The laser output pulse energy at difference frequency (a) and ambient temperature.
Figure 4 shows the simulation temperature distribution of laser rod on x-direction after 5 minutes pumping at room
temperature and repetition rate of 10 Hz. The temperature distributed symmetrically about the central axis of the laser
rod. The laser rod has the highest temperature of 59.5 0C at its centre, the temperature decreases at a position farther
from the center. At the rod surface, the temperature is close to the ambient temperature. The high temperature gradient is
explained by the low thermal conductivity of Yb:Er glass medium. It is the cause of the thermal lens effect, as a result,
the laser is unstable when it operates at high frequency at high ambient temperature.

Fig.4. Temperature distribution on x-direction of laser rod, the insert is the schematic diagram of the Yb:Er glass crystal with heat
sink structure.
The pulse shape at a repetition rate of 10Hz was illustrated in Fig. 5. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the
pulse was measured to be about 4.6 ns. The pulse shape remained almost unchanged at a different repetition rate

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 12760 127600A-3

Fig. 5. The temporal profile of a single pulse with the FWHM of 4.6 ns

4. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we have developed a compact, high peak power laser transmitter by using diode array side-pump passive
Q-switched technique. Our fabrication can generate the pulse laser with the pulse energy and pulse with are 1.5 mJ and
4.6 ns, respectively. The repetition rate of laser in the range 1 – 10 Hz. The operating temperature of laser is in room
temperature to 60oC with the pulse energy decrease about 25% at high operating temperature.

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