Title :
Compact, high gain, hetero-composite Nd:YVO4/SiC thin disk amplifier with advanced thermal management
Author :
Newburgh, G.A. ; Dubinskii, M.
Author_Institution :
US Army Res. Lab., Adelphi, MD, USA
Abstract :
A thermally advanced, Nd:YVO4 amplifier at 1064 nm based on an 800 μm-thick Nd:YVO4 gain layer bonded to a silicon carbide (SiC) prism is demonstrated. The amplifier was tested in the `master oscillator-power amplifier´ configuration, where both the seed source and the amplifier were operated in a quasi-continuous-wave regime. The hetero-composite Nd:YVO4/SiC gain element pumped by an 808 nm laser diode bar stack amplified the seed power in a range of 1-55 W with a gain of 4-2.6, respectively. The temperature profile of the gain element measured by a thermal camera indicated the maximum observed temperature excursion at pump saturation intensity to be only 27°C.
Keywords :
neodymium; optical pumping; optical saturation; silicon compounds; solid lasers; thermal management (packaging); yttrium compounds; SiC; YVO4:Nd-SiC; advanced thermal management; heterocomposite Nd:YVO4/SiC thin disk amplifier; laser diode bar stack pumping; master oscillator-power amplifier configuration; power 1 W to 55 W; pump saturation intensity; quasicontinuous wave regime; silicon carbide prism; size 800 mum; temperature 27 degC; temperature profile; thermal camera; wavelength 1064 nm; wavelength 808 nm;
Journal_Title :
Electronics Letters
DOI :
10.1049/el.2014.1900
