Suitability test of a high beam quality Nd:YVO4 industrial laser for the ISOLDE RILIS installation.

A multi-stage test of a Blaze 532-40-HE diode pumped Nd:YVO4 laser, supplied as a loan by Lumera Laser GmbH, has been performed at the ISOLDE RILIS installation. The feasibility of the integration of this laser within the existing laser setup was confirmed and its suitability for non-resonant ionization, dye laser pumping and Ti:Sa laser pumping has been assessed. The high beam quality (M2=1.1) and low jitter (<3 ns) are important parameters for effective power delivery to the ISOLDE ion source to provide the radiation for the non-resonant final step of a RILIS ionization scheme. To fulfil the reliability demands of an industrial laser, features such as multi-parameter logging, remote performance monitoring and optimization are included. The tests demonstrate the suitability of the laser for the three applications at RILIS, particularly for non-resonant ionization and dye laser pumping. The integration of this laser in the ISOLDE RILIS setup would be a significant upgrade to the laboratory that would result in improved efficiency and reliability.