Improvement of the operation parameters for a Cr:LiSAF ultrashort-pulsed laser

The optimization of the pumping power that is focused on a gain medium inside an optical cavity is fundamental for increasing the efficiency of the power transferred inside a crystal, in this way increasing the output power of the laser. Nevertheless, in the case of pumping with a highly astigmatic laser diode, an undesirable form of the beam is focused on the cavity and the process to improve the cross section and sizes of the beam produce a notable reduction in the effective pump power ultimately focused in the crystal. The cavity design improvements for a Cr:LiSAF laser pumped with a 200 um x 1 um laser diode emission is presented for three different configurations, Z, V, and ring. The pump power is introduced in the cavity through a simple optical array, coupling more than 83% of the laser-diode power. The design requirements for the resonant cavity are reviewed in order to improve the coupling between the fundamental mode of the cavity and the cross-section form of the pumping beam. The stability limits of the cavities and Kerr sensitivity region are presented.