Open AccessEfficient second to ninth harmonic generation using megawatt peak power microchip laser
Author(s) -
Rakesh Bhandari,
Naoki Tsuji,
Tamaki Suzuki,
Masayuki Nishifuji,
Takunori Taira
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.21.028849
Subject(s) - lithium triborate , optics , materials science , laser , barium borate , second harmonic generation , energy conversion efficiency , high harmonic generation , nanosecond , optoelectronics , sum frequency generation , nonlinear optics , physics
We report the design and use of a megawatt peak power Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG microchip laser for efficient second to ninth harmonic generation. We show that the sub-nanosecond pulse width region, between 100 ps and 1 ns, is ideally suited for efficient wavelength conversion. Using this feature, we report 85% second harmonic generation efficiency using lithium triborate (LBO), 60% fourth harmonic generation efficiency usingß-barium borate, and 44% IR to UV third harmonic generation efficiency using Type I and Type II LBO. Finally, we report the first demonstration of 118 nm VUV generation in xenon gas using a microchip laser.