Microchip Nd:YAG laser with master-oscillator–power-amplifier architecture

IF 38.1 1区物理与天体物理 Q1 OPTICS

Nature Photonics Pub Date : 2026-09-30 DOI:10.1038/s41566-026-01984-2

Yu Guo, Yubo Wang, Haoqi Zhao, Fengyan Yang, Guangcanlan Yang, Hao Xie, Hong X. Tang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Diode-pumped solid-state lasers play a central role in modern photonics owing to their exceptional efficiency and ability to extend spectral coverage beyond the reach of semiconductor diodes. These attributes have enabled breakthroughs in precision metrology, quantum optics and coherent communications. However, bringing the proven advantages of diode-pumped solid-state gain media such as neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) onto an integrated photonic platform has remained difficult, largely due to inefficient pump utilization and limited power scaling in chip-scale implementations. Here we demonstrate a photonic-integrated Nd:YAG laser–amplifier system that overcomes these challenges with a microchip-based master-oscillator–power-amplifier architecture. The seed laser, employing a double-resonant microring resonator, could reach a threshold as low as 2.9 μW. The single-pass waveguide amplifier, when optimized separately, provides up to 46.6 dB small-signal gain. Combining the low-threshold seed with cascaded waveguide amplifiers, the integrated microchip-based master-oscillator–power-amplifier delivers more than 12 dBm of amplified continuous-wave output power. These results establish Nd:YAG waveguide integration as a practical route to compact and high-performance solid-state light sources.

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微芯片Nd:YAG激光器主振功率放大器结构

二极管泵浦固体激光器在现代光子学中发挥着核心作用，因为它们具有卓越的效率和扩展光谱覆盖范围的能力，超出了半导体二极管的范围。这些特性使精密计量、量子光学和相干通信取得了突破。然而，将二极管泵浦固态增益介质（如掺钕钇铝石榴石（Nd:YAG））的优势应用到集成光子平台上仍然很困难，这主要是由于泵浦利用率低，芯片级实现的功率缩放有限。在这里，我们展示了一个光子集成Nd:YAG激光放大器系统，该系统采用基于微芯片的主振荡器功率放大器架构来克服这些挑战。采用双谐振微环谐振腔的种子激光器可达到低至2.9 μW的阈值。单通波导放大器，单独优化时，提供高达46.6 dB的小信号增益。结合低阈值种子和级联波导放大器，集成的基于微芯片的主振荡器功率放大器提供超过12 dBm的放大连续波输出功率。这些结果奠定了Nd:YAG波导集成作为紧凑和高性能固态光源的实用途径。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Nature Photonics 物理-光学

CiteScore

54.20

自引率

1.70%

发文量

158

审稿时长

12 months

期刊介绍： Nature Photonics is a monthly journal dedicated to the scientific study and application of light, known as Photonics. It publishes top-quality, peer-reviewed research across all areas of light generation, manipulation, and detection. The journal encompasses research into the fundamental properties of light and its interactions with matter, as well as the latest developments in optoelectronic devices and emerging photonics applications. Topics covered include lasers, LEDs, imaging, detectors, optoelectronic devices, quantum optics, biophotonics, optical data storage, spectroscopy, fiber optics, solar energy, displays, terahertz technology, nonlinear optics, plasmonics, nanophotonics, and X-rays. In addition to research papers and review articles summarizing scientific findings in optoelectronics, Nature Photonics also features News and Views pieces and research highlights. It uniquely includes articles on the business aspects of the industry, such as technology commercialization and market analysis, offering a comprehensive perspective on the field.