Neodymium doped laser crystals

The quantum yields of fluorescence of the different systems have also been determined relative to a single crystal of neodymium-doped YAG for which a quantum yield of unity has been assumed (Heller, 1968a). The quantum yields obtained, even if they are accurate only within a factor of two, follow the same trend as for the lifetimes, with the highest values for the acidic solutions 0.70 and >0.75 in presence of S11CI4 and SbCls, respectively. Neutral and basic solutions are less luminescent and have quantum yields of 0.5 and 0.4, respectively. Identical measurements performed on a sodium-compensated neodymium-doped calcium tungstate crystal lead to a value of 0.5. The high quantum efficiency and the low threshold (between 2 and 40 J) of these Nd3+ SeOCl2 systems clearly demonstrate that liquids are not inherently inferior to solids as laser materials. 

In a solid state laser, the active species is distributed throughout a solid, usually crystalline, material, although glass can also be used as a host. The lasers are robust and frequently tunable, though heat dissipation can sometimes be an issue. Certain types of solid state crystals, for example neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd YAG), can be pumped by diode lasers instead of by other lasers or by flashlamps, which is often the case for other materials. Such diode-pumped, solid state systems are reliable, economical, compact, and easy to operate—in fact, many commercial systems are turnkey, needing only to be plugged in and turned on to operate. 

In Figure 20.19 we sketch the operation of the neodymium-YAG laser. The laser medium is a crystal of yttrium-aluminum-garnet doped with neodymium ions. This laser has the advantage over the ruby laser that the laser action occurs between two excited states, and the population inversion is consequently easier to maintain. The Nd-YAG laser is widely used in science and technology. One major application is to pump the so-called dye lasers in which the medium is intensely colored dye molecules (usually with conjugated double bonds) dissolved in... 

For pico- and femtosecond studies, time-resolved measurements require powerful pulsed laser systems operated in conjimction with effective detection techniques. Relevant commercially available laser systems are based on Ti sapphire oscillators, tunable between 720 and 930 nm (optimum laser power around 800 nm). For nanosecond work, Nd iYAG (neodymium-doped yttrium-alumi-num-gamet) (1064 nm) and ruby (694.3 nm) laser systems are commonly employed. For many applications, light pulses of lower wavelength are produced with the aid of appropriate nonlinear crystals through second, third, or fourth harmonic generation. For example, short pulses of 2=532, 355, and 266 nm are generated in this way by means of Nd " YAG systems. Moreover, systems based... 

Neodymium-doped yttrium-aluminum-garnet, a crystal that is used for lasers. It lases at a fundamental wavelength of 1064nm, but can be frequency tripled to 355 nm. 

The neodymium laser is popular because it is a solid state laser. Trivalent neodymium ions are incorporated in a host crystal or glass, at about one atomic percent doping. In the solid state, high concentrations of ions are available as opposed to the gaseous state. Further the host crystal provides mechanical strength and chemical inertness. 

For all their usefulness, gas lasers are very inefficient lasers, with normally much less than 0.1 per cent conversion of electrical energy into laser light. A very widely used solid-state laser material is Nd YAG (and various similar doping/host material combinations). The abbreviation Nd YAG stands for neodymium atoms (Nd) being implanted in an yttrium aluminium garnet crystal host (Y3AI5O12). These implants, in the form of triply ionized neodymium Nd, form the actual active laser medium. 

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