A High Conversion Efficiency Q-Switched Intracavity Nd:YVO_4/KTA Optical Parametric Oscillator under Direct Diode Pumping at 880nm

We report a high conversion efficiency Q-switched Nd:YVO_4/KTiOAsO_4 (KTA) intracavity optical parametric oscillator (IOPO) operating near 3.5 μm based on direct 880 nm laser diode (LD) pumping. A maximum average idler output power of 2.6 W with a pulse width of about 7.9 ns is achieved under an absorbed LD power of 45.4 W at a pulse repetition rate (PRR) of 10 kHz. The maximum optical-optical conversion efficiency from LD power to OPO mid-infrared (MIR) output of 6.74% is achieved. To our knowledge, this is the highest conversion efficiency for a KTA-IOPO by exploiting a Q-switched laser as the parent fundamental pump source. The beam quality factors M^2 of the MIR beam at the full output power with a PRR of 10 kHz are within 2.12 in both the horizontal and vertical directions, indicating a near Gaussian mode.