NONDIODE LASERS

NONDIODE LASERS

In May 1997, Spectra-Physics Lasers (Mountain View, CA) introduced Millennia X, which achieves, in a compact commercial package, performance specifications that exceeded those demonstrated in advanced research laboratories. This diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser produces more than 10 W of CW output at 532 nm in a low-noise TEM00 beam. The peak-to-peak amplitude noise is u¥to ten times lower than that of a conventional argon-ion laser, and its beam-pointing and power stability are comparable to large-frame argon-ion lasers without the burden of high utility and operating costs. Millennia X is the latest addition to the expanding Millennia family--its compact package is the same size as the original 5-W Millennia--and the 10-W version has industrial applications in film subtitling, reprographics, and laser light shows. It can also replace ion lasers in scientific applications such as pumping Ti:sapphire and dye lasers and optical parametric oscillators.