Diode-side-pumped, intracavity Nd:YLF/KGW/LBO Raman laser at 573 nm for retinal photocoagulation

Wavelengths in the yellow-orange range are of significant interest for retinal photocoagulation and are especially important in the case of diabetic retinopathy, which can cause blindness and affects 3.3% of all working-age adults. This work presents a highly-efficient, compact, and cost-efficient side-pumped, intracavity Raman configuration to achieve this objective. A side-pumped Nd:YLF/KGW/LBO frequency-doubled Raman laser producing 11.7 W of output power at 1147 nm with 21% of slope efficiency and 6 W of output power at 573.5 nm with 12% slope efficiency is demonstrated.