20.2: High-Efficiency Green Laser Source for Compact Projectors

Compact and efficient green lasers are of high interest to consumer electronics applications such as handheld and pocket projectors. Since direct green laser sources are not available, a number of second-harmonic-based approaches have been proposed recently. However, challenges in low-efficiency and high-cost structure have not been successfully overcome yet. We demonstrate a novel green laser source based on the monolithic cavity microchip laser platform. The use of our highly efficient, periodically poled MgO-doped Lithium Niobate as the frequency doubler allows obtaining significant increase in the overall efficiency of the green microchip laser. Specifically, we demonstrate 200 mW green output with >10% wall-plug efficiency in the 35°C temperature range.