Side-pumped intracavity Raman laser emitting at yellow range

Yellow lasers are of significant interest because of their potential in application in the medical field. One of the main applications occurs in the treatment of retinal diseases, where yellow radiation presents good clinical results with minimal side effects. Despite advances in the development of yellow wavelength lasers, all existing alternatives have limitations, especially with regard to cost and wavelength choice. This work was developed with the objective of presenting an alternative to the existing options. For this, a side-pumping of a Nd₃+:YLiF₄ (Nd:YLF) crystal was employed through Brewster angle obtaining a fundamental laser at 1053 nm. For the Stokes conversion of the fundamental laser, a KGd(WO4)2 (KGW) crystal was used in intracavity configuration, generating the Raman emissions at 1147 nm and 1163 nm, accessed by the two main Stokes conversion lines, 768 cm^-1 e 901 cm^-'1. Together, an intracavity LBO (LiB₃O₅) crystal was used, which through second harmonic generation (SHG) phenomenon converts the Raman wavelength to a yellow laser, generating the wavelength of 573 nm with maximum output power of 6.06 W and diode-SHG conversion efficiency of 12%. Results are also presented for an Yb:KGW self-Raman laser operating at 1096 nm on the 89 cm^-1 Stokes conversion. Were obtained slope efficiency and diode-Raman conversion efficiency of 42% and 33,2%, respectively. (author)