Solid-State Lasers
Q-Peak has been involved in solid-state lasers since 1985 during the time when the pumping mechanism for solid-state lasers transitioned from flash-lamps to diode lasers. Lasers based on flash-lamp pumped Neodymium-, Erbium-, Thulium-, and Holmium-doped laser materials (the Laser 1-2-3) was Q-Peak’s first product. Another early product line was based on Titanium-doped sapphire and included a cw, tunable, single-frequency laser (the Titan cw); a tunable, pulsed, Ti-sapphire laser (the Titan P); and a mode-locked Ti-sapphire laser (the Titan ML).
Materials
Q-Peak is fully versed in a large range of solid-state laser media. This includes a number of rare earth ions and transition metals in a variety of laser host media. Q-Peak has particular experience with laser host media based upon Yttrium Lithium Fluoride (YLF) as higher efficiency is typically achieved with YLF versus YAG due to longer upper state lifetimes in YLF. Not included in the list below is our experience with solid-state laser media specifically in the area of ultra-fast lasers which can be found here. Link to Ultrafast Lasers
| Laser Ion | Host Media |
|---|---|
| Neodymium | YAG (1064 nm); YVO4 (1064 nm); YLF (1047 & 1053 nm) |
| Erbium | YLF (2810 nm); YAG (2937 nm); GGG (2821 nm); YSGG (2797 nm) |
| Thulium | YLF (1900 nm); YAG (2010 nm); YALO (1940 nm) |
| Holmium | YLF (2050 nm) |
| Ytterbium | YAG (1030 nm); S-FAP (1047 nm) |
| Chromium | YAG (1332 -1554) |
| Titanium | Al2O3 (650 – 1000 nm) |
Types
Throughout Q-Peak’s 30-year history, we have constructed virtually every type of laser that has been developed including cw, long-pulse, and Q-switched operation. Pulsed, single-frequency lasers, tunable lasers, microchip lasers, and injection-seeded lasers are among the many types of lasers we have constructed. One of our core technologies involves multi-passing of laser media in a slab geometry that has yielded optical-to-optical efficiencies as high as 30% in a side-pumped geometry. Construction of master-oscillator/power amplifiers is one of our strengths. We also have experience with cryogenic operation of laser media such as Yb:YAG. Conversion of solid-state laser wavelengths to the UV or IR is a common requirement and is described in detail here. Link to Nonlinear Optics
Hybrid Systems
While many applications for solid-state lasers have been replaced by fiber lasers, requirements of high pulse energy and low repetition rates are an area where solid-state promlasers have particular utility. Additionally, hybrid fiber laser/solid-state systems where low pulse energy amplification and waveform shaping is accomplished with a fiber-based front end and then amplified to high pulse energies with a solid-state amplifier is a marriage of the two technologies. Fiber laser pumping (with its high beam quality) also expands the usefulness and efficiency of solid-state lasers by allowing novel end-pumped geometries.