@inproceedings{f85aa0584ead4c52b1c985e94fae066f,
title = "Low threshold and high efficiency solar-pumped laser with Fresnel lens and a grooved Nd:YAG rod",
abstract = "Sunlight is considered as a new efficient source for direct optical-pumped solid state lasers. High-efficiency solar pumped lasers with low threshold power would be more promising than semiconductor lasers with large solar panel in space laser communication. Here we report a significant advance in solar-pumped laser threshold by pumping Nd:YAG rod with a grooved sidewall. Two-solar pumped laser setups are devised. In both cases, a Fresnel lens is used as the primary sunlight concentrator. Gold-plated conical cavity with a liquid light-guide lens is used as the secondary concentrator to further increase the solar energy concentration. In the first setup, solar pumping a 6mm diameter Nd:YAG rod, maximum laser power of 31.0W/m2 cw at 1064nm is produced, which is higher than the reported record, and the slope efficiency is 4.98% with the threshold power on the surface of Fresnel lens is 200 W. In the second setup, a 5 mm diameter laser rod output power is 29.8W/m2 with a slope efficiency of 4.3%. The threshold power of 102W is obtained, which is 49% lower than the former. Meanwhile, the theoretical calculating of the threshold power and slope efficiency of the solar-pumped laser has been established based on the rate-equation of a four-level system. The results of the finite element analysis by simulation software are verified in experiment.",
keywords = "Solar-pumped, grooved rod, laser, neodymium, pumping, resonator, solid-state, threshold",
author = "Zhe Guan and Changming Zhao and Suhui Yang and Yu Wang and Jieyao Ke and Fengbin Gao and Haiyang Zhang",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016 SPIE.; High-Power Lasers and Applications VIII ; Conference date: 12-10-2016 Through 14-10-2016",
year = "2016",
doi = "10.1117/12.2245281",
language = "English",
series = "Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering",
publisher = "SPIE",
editor = "Singh, {Upendra N.} and Ruxin Li and Walter, {Robert F.}",
booktitle = "High-Power Lasers and Applications VIII",
address = "United States",
}