High-power slab-based Tm:YLF laser for in-band pumping of Ho:YAG
High-power slab-based Tm:YLF laser for in-band pumping of Ho:YAG
Several remote sensing applications require pulsed sources in the mid-infrared spectral regime with high average powers and good beam quality. Ho:YAG lasers have a number of attractive features for high power generation at 2.1 microns, either for direct applications or as a pump source for parametric conversion to longer infra-red wavelengths. Unfortunately, direct diode pumping of Ho:YAG is not practical, so a two-step process is generally employed in which one or more diode-pumped thulium-doped lasers are used to directly pump (in-band) the Ho:YAG laser. In response, we have investigated a slab-based architecture for scaling the output power of a Tm:YLF laser to the 100W power regime at 1.91microns, corresponding to a strong Ho:YAG absorption line. Multiple slab lasers with moderate beam quality in the plane of the slab can be combined to efficiently end-pump a low-doping concentration Ho:YAG rod in a pump-guided configuration. In a preliminary demonstration, two 2at.% doped Tm:YLF slab lasers with a spatially multiplexed output of 74W were employed to end-pump a 1.5mm diameter, 80mm long, 0.25at.% Ho:YAG barrel-polished rod. A two mirror plano-concave cavity, with 11% output coupling transmission, produced a CW output of 38W with a slope efficiency of 60% with respect to the incident power. Q-switched operation at a repetition rate of 20Hz with two intracavity Brewster plate polarizers and a 60% transmitting output coupler produced 14mJ pulses with a pulse duration (FWHM) of 18ns. This architecture offers an attractive route for future high-power 2micron lasers.
9780819470461
So, Sik
e5ede981-db51-4966-92c2-8e9a509bdce5
Mackenzie, Jacob I.
1d82c826-fdbf-425b-ac04-be43ccf12008
Shepherd, David P.
9fdd51c4-39d6-41b3-9021-4c033c2f4ead
Clarkson, William A.
3b060f63-a303-4fa5-ad50-95f166df1ba2
So, Sik
e5ede981-db51-4966-92c2-8e9a509bdce5
Mackenzie, Jacob I.
1d82c826-fdbf-425b-ac04-be43ccf12008
Shepherd, David P.
9fdd51c4-39d6-41b3-9021-4c033c2f4ead
Clarkson, William A.
3b060f63-a303-4fa5-ad50-95f166df1ba2
So, Sik, Mackenzie, Jacob I., Shepherd, David P. and Clarkson, William A.
(2008)
High-power slab-based Tm:YLF laser for in-band pumping of Ho:YAG.
SPIE 6871 : Photonics West.
19 - 24 Jan 2008.
10 pp
.
(doi:10.1117/12.761822).
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
Several remote sensing applications require pulsed sources in the mid-infrared spectral regime with high average powers and good beam quality. Ho:YAG lasers have a number of attractive features for high power generation at 2.1 microns, either for direct applications or as a pump source for parametric conversion to longer infra-red wavelengths. Unfortunately, direct diode pumping of Ho:YAG is not practical, so a two-step process is generally employed in which one or more diode-pumped thulium-doped lasers are used to directly pump (in-band) the Ho:YAG laser. In response, we have investigated a slab-based architecture for scaling the output power of a Tm:YLF laser to the 100W power regime at 1.91microns, corresponding to a strong Ho:YAG absorption line. Multiple slab lasers with moderate beam quality in the plane of the slab can be combined to efficiently end-pump a low-doping concentration Ho:YAG rod in a pump-guided configuration. In a preliminary demonstration, two 2at.% doped Tm:YLF slab lasers with a spatially multiplexed output of 74W were employed to end-pump a 1.5mm diameter, 80mm long, 0.25at.% Ho:YAG barrel-polished rod. A two mirror plano-concave cavity, with 11% output coupling transmission, produced a CW output of 38W with a slope efficiency of 60% with respect to the incident power. Q-switched operation at a repetition rate of 20Hz with two intracavity Brewster plate polarizers and a 60% transmitting output coupler produced 14mJ pulses with a pulse duration (FWHM) of 18ns. This architecture offers an attractive route for future high-power 2micron lasers.
More information
e-pub ahead of print date: March 2008
Venue - Dates:
SPIE 6871 : Photonics West, 2008-01-19 - 2008-01-24
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 50693
URI: https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/50693
ISBN: 9780819470461
PURE UUID: 31709c51-7f6d-4923-9e72-369c36bd7a8e
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Date deposited: 19 Mar 2008
Last modified: 03 Dec 2019 02:05
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Contributors
Author:
Sik So
Author:
David P. Shepherd
University divisions
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