Title :
Synthetic Diamond for Intracavity Thermal Management in Compact Solid-State Lasers
Author :
Millar, Patricia ; Birch, Rolf B. ; Kemp, Alan J. ; Burns, David
Author_Institution :
Inst. of Photonics, Univ. of Strathclyde, Glasgow
Abstract :
The intracavity use of newly developed low-birefringence synthetic diamond for thermal management in compact solid-state lasers is examined both experimentally and theoretically. A comparison - using single-crystal natural diamond as a base line - is made between synthetic, single-crystal diamond types: chemical vapor deposition and high pressure/high temperature grown diamond. The synthetic diamond samples are shown to possess significantly lower birefringence than often occurs in natural single-crystal diamond while maintaining the excellent thermal management properties and low insertion loss of natural diamond. Low threshold, high efficiency laser operation is demonstrated in polarization sensitive cavities incorporating intracavity synthetic diamond using both doped-dielectric and semiconductor gain elements. In addition, finite element analysis is used to demonstrate the potential of diamond to reduce thermal distortion and stress in doped-dielectric disk lasers. A 15 W Nd:GdVO4 disk laser utilizing diamond is demonstrated. These results highlight the potential of low birefringence synthetic diamond for intracavity thermal management applications in solid-state lasers.
Keywords :
birefringence; diamond; finite element analysis; gadolinium compounds; laser cavity resonators; light polarisation; neodymium; optical losses; semiconductor lasers; semiconductor materials; solid lasers; thermo-optical effects; C; GdVO4:Nd; birefringence; chemical vapor deposition; doped-dielectric disk lasers; doped-dielectric elements; finite element analysis; high pressure grown diamond; high-temperature grown diamond; insertion loss; intracavity thermal management; low-birefringence diamond; natural diamond; polarization sensitive cavities; power 15 W; semiconductor gain elements; single-crystal diamond; solid-state lasers; synthetic diamond; thermal distortion; Birefringence; Chemical lasers; Chemical vapor deposition; Insertion loss; Laser noise; Semiconductor lasers; Solid lasers; Temperature sensors; Thermal management; Thermal stresses; Diamond; semiconductor laser; solid-state laser;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JQE.2008.923424