Low loss depressed cladding waveguide inscribed in YAG:Nd single crystal by femtosecond laser pulses

doi:10.1364/OE.20.003832

Low loss depressed cladding waveguide inscribed in YAG:Nd single crystal by femtosecond laser pulses

Andrey Okhrimchuk, Vladimir Mezentsev, Alexander Shestakov, and Ian Bennion »View Author Affiliations

Optics Express, Vol. 20, Issue 4, pp. 3832-3843 (2012)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.20.003832

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Abstract

A depressed cladding waveguide with record low loss of 0.12 dB/cm is inscribed in YAG:Nd(0.3at.%) crystal by femtosecond laser pulses with an elliptical beam waist. The waveguide is formed by a set of parallel tracks which constitute the depressed cladding. It is a key element for compact and efficient CW waveguide laser operating at 1064 nm and pumped by a multimode laser diode. Special attention is paid to mechanical stress resulting from the inscription process. Numerical calculation of mode distribution and propagation loss with the elasto-optical effect taken into account leads to the conclusion that the depressed cladding is a dominating factor in waveguide mode formation, while the mechanical stress only slightly distorts waveguide modes.

OCIS Codes
(140.3530) Lasers and laser optics : Lasers, neodymium
(220.4000) Optical design and fabrication : Microstructure fabrication

ToC Category:
Laser Microfabrication

History
Original Manuscript: October 24, 2011
Revised Manuscript: December 2, 2011
Manuscript Accepted: December 3, 2011
Published: February 1, 2012

Citation
Andrey Okhrimchuk, Vladimir Mezentsev, Alexander Shestakov, and Ian Bennion, "Low loss depressed cladding waveguide inscribed in YAG:Nd single crystal by femtosecond laser pulses," Opt. Express 20, 3832-3843 (2012)
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-20-4-3832

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References

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