Potential sodium D_2 resonance radiation generated by intra-cavity SHG of a c-cut Nd:YVO_4 self-Raman laser

Intra-cavity frequency doubling with 589 nm emission from a compact c-cut Nd:YVO4 crystal self-Raman laser was investigated. A 15-cm-length LBO with non-critical phase-matching cut (θ = 90°, ϕ = 0°) was used for efficient second-harmonic generation. At a pump power of 16.2 W and a pulse repetition frequency of 40 kHz, output power up to 2.15 W was achieved with a pulse width of 16 ns and a conversion efficiency of 13.3% with respect to the diode pump power. The center wavelength was measured to be 589.17 nm with a Half-Maximum-Full-Width of 0.2 nm, which was well in accordance with the sodium D2 resonance radiation.