Second harmonic operation of diode-pumped Rb vapor lasers

Abstract

A CW diode-pumped alkali laser (DPAL) based on the D1 rubidium resonance transition has been investigated. The pump sources for these experiments are two 780 nm fiber-coupled diode modules, incorporating volume holographic gratings for wavelength control. Total pump power is up to 64 W. Rb laser output at the 794.8 nm fundamental wavelength is up to 7.8 W. Intracavity second harmonic generation in BIBO generates up to 250 mW at 397.4 nm.