A Low-Cost Approach to Diode-Pumped Ti:Sapphire Lasers With Watt-Level Output

We report a continuous-wave Ti:sapphire laser with an output power of 1.03 W, achieved with two low-cost single-emitter diode pumps, both of blue wavelength (448 and 468 nm). Using a novel strategy of combining blue-wavelength pumping with a long, low-doping Ti:sapphire crystal, we maximise the available pump power while minimising deleterious effects associated with blue pump wavelengths, demonstrating Watt-level output powers.