Abstract

Microchip lasers are the most compact (1 mm³) and the simplest diode-pumped solid-state lasers^1,2 in which the cavity mirrors are directly deposited on the polished surfaces of a thin (<l-mm) active laser material. They can be fabricated at very low cost, by using collective fabrication processes such as those used in microelectronics. They can be used in different areas, such as automobiles, range finding, microlidar, and micromarking. Most of the applications necessitate pulsed operation. The small cavity length (500 μm to 1 mm) leads to very short (<l-ns) and high-peak-power (several-kilowatt) pulses in Q-switched microchip lasers.^3,4

© 1995 Optical Society of America