Neodymium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride
Encyclopedia
Neodymium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride (Nd:YLF) is a lasing medium
for arclamp-pumped
and diode-pumped solid-state laser
s. The YLF
crystal (LiYF4) is naturally birefringent
, and commonly-used laser transitions occur at 1047 nm and 1053 nm.
It is used in Q-switched
systems in part due
to its relatively long fluorescence lifetime.
As with Nd:YAG laser
s, harmonic generation is frequently
employed with Q-switched Nd:YLF
to produce shorter wavelengths. A common application
of frequency-doubled Nd:YLF pulses is to pump ultrafast
Active laser medium
The active laser medium is the source of optical gain within a laser. The gain results from the stimulated emission of electronic or molecular transitions to a lower energy state from a higher energy state...
for arclamp-pumped
Laser pumping
Laser pumping is the act of energy transfer from an external source into the gain medium of a laser. The energy is absorbed in the medium, producing excited states in its atoms. When the number of particles in one excited state exceeds the number of particles in the ground state or a less-excited...
and diode-pumped solid-state laser
Solid-state laser
A solid-state laser is a laser that uses a gain medium that is a solid, rather than a liquid such as in dye lasers or a gas as in gas lasers. Semiconductor-based lasers are also in the solid state, but are generally considered as a separate class from solid-state lasers .-Solid-state...
s. The YLF
Yttrium lithium fluoride
Yttrium lithium fluoride is a birefringent crystal, typically doped with neodymium and used as again medium in solid-state lasers....
crystal (LiYF4) is naturally birefringent
Birefringence
Birefringence, or double refraction, is the decomposition of a ray of light into two rays when it passes through certain anisotropic materials, such as crystals of calcite or boron nitride. The effect was first described by the Danish scientist Rasmus Bartholin in 1669, who saw it in calcite...
, and commonly-used laser transitions occur at 1047 nm and 1053 nm.
It is used in Q-switched
Q-switching
Q-switching, sometimes known as giant pulse formation, is a technique by which a laser can be made to produce a pulsed output beam. The technique allows the production of light pulses with extremely high peak power, much higher than would be produced by the same laser if it were operating in a...
systems in part due
to its relatively long fluorescence lifetime.
As with Nd:YAG laser
Nd:YAG laser
Nd:YAG is a crystal that is used as a lasing medium for solid-state lasers. The dopant, triply ionized neodymium, typically replaces yttrium in the crystal structure of the yttrium aluminium garnet , since they are of similar size...
s, harmonic generation is frequently
employed with Q-switched Nd:YLF
to produce shorter wavelengths. A common application
of frequency-doubled Nd:YLF pulses is to pump ultrafast