Frequency-stabilized Nd:YAG laser with high output power

It is pointed out that single-frequency emission from a Nd:YAG laser at 1.06 microns at power levels in excess of 1 W would be useful for the investigation of dynamic processes in nonlinear optics. The emission could also be important for applications related to high-resolution nonlinear spectroscopy. However, due to thermal loading of the laser rod, it is very difficult to obtain submegahertz frequency stability for Nd:YAG lasers at high levels of lamp pumping power. The present investigation is concerned with a single-frequency Nd:YAG laser with an output power exceeding 1.1 W and a frequency stability of 120-kHz rms. This performance is obtained in a ring cavity. This approach makes it possible to eliminate problems associated with spatial hole burning. The ring cavity is designed to minimize laser fluctuations due to noise in the pumping and cooling processes.