A comparative study of the laser performance of diode-laser-pumped Nd:GdVO[sub 4] and Nd:YVO[sub 4] crystals.

Abstract. A comparative study of Nd:GdVO[sub 4] and Nd:YVO[sub 4] crystal lasers pumped by a cw diode laser has been conducted at the fundamental wavelengths of 1.06 micro m and 1.34 micro m, as well as when intracavity frequency-doubled to 532 nm and 670 nm, respectively. At these four wavelengths, maximum output powers from the Nd:GdVO[sub 4] crystal laser were 1.27 W, 800mW, 610mW, and 82mW at a diode-launched pump power of 2.9 W. The threshold pump powers were 64 mW, 159 mW, 5 mW, and 12 mW, respectively. All the results obtained from Nd:GdVO[sub 4] were superior to those of Nd:YVO[sub 4], indicating that Nd:GdVO[sub 4] is a more efficient laser crystal than Nd:YVO[sub 4] for diode-pumped solid-state lasers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]