100W Nd:YAG rotating cavity laser

Eckold, M., Mackenzie, Jacob and Clarkson, William (2014) 100W Nd:YAG rotating cavity laser. SPIE Photonics West 2014, , San Francisco, United States. 01 - 06 Feb 2014.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

As the time scales associated with stimulated emission and heat flow are very different, the motion provided by the periscope effectively separates the optical and thermal processes in space. This is similar to the approach taken by quasi-CW lasers, which separates the two processes in time, and thus allows the RCL to provide a CW output whilst maintaining the thermal management ability of a quasi-CW laser.
Using motion for thermal management imparts a number of advantages, for example the potential to utilise high pump densities and thus smaller pumped regions than those found in thin disk lasers. Energy stored in the gain medium is therefore less susceptible to extraction via ASE, allowing the generation of high energy pulses at high repetition rates. Furthermore, this approach provides a simplified heat sinking arrangement when compared to other motion based thermal management techniques, such as the Rotary Disk Laser which depends on a moving gain medium.
We will be presenting the latest performance results for our RCL with CW power levels exceeding 100W from a single "end-pumped" Nd:YAG polycrystalline sample.

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