Wavelength-multiplexed pumping with 478- and 520-nm indium gallium nitride laser diodes for Ti:sapphire laser

We experimentally reveal the pump-induced loss in a Ti:sapphire laser crystal with 451-nm indium gallium nitride (InGaN) laser diode pumping and show that 478-nm pumping can reduce such loss. The influence of the pump-induced loss at 451-nm pumping is significant even for a crystal that exhibits higher effective figure-of-merit and excellent laser performance at 520-nm pumping. We demonstrate the power scaling of a Ti:sapphire laser by combining 478- and 520-nm InGaN laser diodes and obtain CW output power of 593 mW.