Solar pumped Nd:YAG laser systems

Solar radiation from sunlight is abundant on our earth during daytime. In order to utilise it, here we report a new design and development of solar pumped Nd:YAG laser system. Sun Light is collected using a large Fresnel lens concentrator of diameter 46 cm, which is then used for side pumping of the Nd:YAG laser rod. Horizontal cavity design with a variable cavity length of 14 cm to 25 cm is proposed in which it accommodates mirror, output coupler, laser rod as well the cooling mechanism. Water cooling is employed to remove extra heat generated around the laser rod. The developed system is low cost and portable. Experimental results of the measurement are solar radiation spectrum, laser line width and output power of laser. Successfully Nd:YAG laser emissions with Full Width Half Maximum of about 1.67 nm at 1064 nm wavelength and Output power of the system has been achieved up to 200 mW. The potential applications of the solar powered laser are laboratory experiments, generation of second harmonic and imaging.