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Power scaling strategy for longitudinally diode-pumped Tm:YLF lasers

Power scaling strategy for longitudinally diode-pumped Tm:YLF lasers
Power scaling strategy for longitudinally diode-pumped Tm:YLF lasers
Tm:YLF is an attractive active medium as it offers very weak thermal lensing, high polarisation purity, and strong absorption bands for laser diode pumping. Despite these attributes, Tm:YLF is a fragile crystal with a low tensile strength, moderate thermal conductivity, and a quasi-three-level energy structure. Our strategy for power scaling end-pumped Tm:YLF lasers revolves around increasing the crystal's stress fracture limit. The approach is two-fold, the first is to reduce the heat deposition density and the second is to use a thin-slab geometry and high aspect-ratio pump-volume. The only significant degree of freedom available for decreasing the heat deposition density in longitudinally-pumped quasi-three-level lasers is to reduce the doping concentration and hence the absorption coefficient. Thus, for power scaling, there are conflicting requirements which imply that very careful selection of the Tm concentration is needed to maximise the fracture limit. We have compared the laser performance of single end-pumped 2at.% and 4at.% Tm:YLF rods and demonstrate that the former has greater power scaling potential, albeit with greater demand on the pump brightness.
p.29
So, S.
160ee139-f4ca-45a4-8ed9-a24c9d7b3f9b
Shepherd, David
9fdd51c4-39d6-41b3-9021-4c033c2f4ead
Mackenzie, Jacob
1d82c826-fdbf-425b-ac04-be43ccf12008
Clarkson, W.A.
3b060f63-a303-4fa5-ad50-95f166df1ba2
So, S.
160ee139-f4ca-45a4-8ed9-a24c9d7b3f9b
Shepherd, David
9fdd51c4-39d6-41b3-9021-4c033c2f4ead
Mackenzie, Jacob
1d82c826-fdbf-425b-ac04-be43ccf12008
Clarkson, W.A.
3b060f63-a303-4fa5-ad50-95f166df1ba2

So, S., Shepherd, David, Mackenzie, Jacob and Clarkson, W.A. (2005) Power scaling strategy for longitudinally diode-pumped Tm:YLF lasers. CLEO/Europe 2005: European Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, Munich, Germany. 12 - 17 Jun 2005. p.29 . (doi:10.1109/CLEOE.2005.1567818).

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Tm:YLF is an attractive active medium as it offers very weak thermal lensing, high polarisation purity, and strong absorption bands for laser diode pumping. Despite these attributes, Tm:YLF is a fragile crystal with a low tensile strength, moderate thermal conductivity, and a quasi-three-level energy structure. Our strategy for power scaling end-pumped Tm:YLF lasers revolves around increasing the crystal's stress fracture limit. The approach is two-fold, the first is to reduce the heat deposition density and the second is to use a thin-slab geometry and high aspect-ratio pump-volume. The only significant degree of freedom available for decreasing the heat deposition density in longitudinally-pumped quasi-three-level lasers is to reduce the doping concentration and hence the absorption coefficient. Thus, for power scaling, there are conflicting requirements which imply that very careful selection of the Tm concentration is needed to maximise the fracture limit. We have compared the laser performance of single end-pumped 2at.% and 4at.% Tm:YLF rods and demonstrate that the former has greater power scaling potential, albeit with greater demand on the pump brightness.

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More information

Published date: 2005
Additional Information: CA6-1-THU, Power scaling concepts
Venue - Dates: CLEO/Europe 2005: European Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, Munich, Germany, 2005-06-12 - 2005-06-17

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 38314
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/38314
PURE UUID: 36dc0aba-d25e-4334-8688-b93e261bee5b
ORCID for David Shepherd: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4561-8184
ORCID for Jacob Mackenzie: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3355-6051

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 08 Jun 2006
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:17

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Contributors

Author: S. So
Author: David Shepherd ORCID iD
Author: Jacob Mackenzie ORCID iD
Author: W.A. Clarkson

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