Experimental investigation on the intensity-balanced dual-frequency Nd: GdVO 4 microchip laser

We present an intensity-balanced dual-frequency laser (DFL) based on an Nd: GdVO4 microchip crystal. The intensity balance ratio tuning mechanism of the DFL, which is governed by the heat sink temperature Tc of the laser crystal, is experimentally studied. The experimental results indicate that keeping a balanced intensity condition, when the pumping power of the DFL increases, the heat sink temperature Tc of the laser crystal must be lowered to rebalance the DFL signal intensities. The Tc versus pumping power slope is experimentally measured to be −17.95  °  C  /  W. By fixing the pumping power at 5.6 W, an intensity-balanced microchip DFL with output power up to 103 mW and frequency separation up to 61 GHz is achieved, whose slope efficiency is 9%.