Dye Laser Pumping by Semiconductor Injection Lasers

Semiconductor lasers are actively used for optical pumping of various solid-state lasers such as Nd:YAG, Nd:YVO4, Ti:Sapphire, Cr:Colquiriite, and Cr:Alexandrite among others. Diode pumping reduces considerably the overall dimensions of laser systems and cuts their cost. There have been repeated attempts to excite dye lasers with semiconductor lasers, but the efficiency of such systems was extremely low due to lack of pump radiation power. Acceptable results were produced only after the advent of high-power visible semiconductor lasers (445 nm and 520 nm, Nichia). Application of various methods of pumping by semiconductor lasers produced wide tuning ranges of laser wavelength (~200 nm), achieved high-efficiency (26%) lasing, carried out diode pumping of a continuous dye laser, and demonstrated mode-locking (pulse duration of about 200 ps). The following is an overview of research on diode pumping of dye lasers.