Diode pumped solid-state laser with improved pump light absorption

A diode pumped solid state laser device, comprising

• a pump laser diode and
• a laser crystal forming at least a part of a solid state laser which emits laser light at a wavelength different from the wavelength of the laser light emitted from said pump laser diode, and said solid state laser being pumped by said pump laser diode, wherein said pump laser diode is arranged to inject its pump laser light in longitudinal direction into said laser crystal, said diode pumped solid state laser device comprising at least one of
• an output coupler which reflects back the fraction of said pump laser light longitudinally transmitted through said laser crystal,
• an anisotropic laser crystal having two different absorption coefficients for pump light polarized along a first direction transversally to the longitudinal direction of the solid state laser and a second direction vertically to said first direction, wherein said anisotropic laser crystal and said pump laser diode are mutually oriented so that the polarization of said pump laser light has a component both along said first and said second direction, and
• a retarder, said retarder converting said pump light from linearly polarized light into elliptically or circularly polarized light.