Blue microchip laser fabricated from Nd:YAG and KNbO3

Abstract

A Nd:YAG/KNbO3 composite-material microchip laser has generated blue radiation at 473 nm with output powers of 1 mW when diode laser pumped and 9 mW when Ti:sapphire laser pumped. The fundamental radiation generated by the quasi-three-level 4F3/2 − 4I9/2 transition in Nd:YAG at 946 nm was frequency doubled in KNbO3 angle cut to be type I critically phase matched at 45 °C. Despite the normally isotropic nature of Nd:YAG, the fundamental is emitted linearly polarized and orthogonal to the linearly polarized blue radiation.