High-power diode-pumped Tm:YLF slab laser

Author

Schellhorn, M. ; Ngcobo, S. ; Bollig, C. ; Esser, M.J.D. ; Preussler, D. ; Nyangaza, K.

Author_Institution

French-German Res. Inst., ISL, St. Louis, France

fYear

2009

fDate

14-19 June 2009

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

1

Abstract

The aim is to develop a high-power Tm:YLF slab laser which can be utilized to pump a Ho slab laser. This paper present a Tm:YLF slab laser pumped by two diode-bar stacks from both ends, leading to a maximum output power of 192.5 W. The slab was sandwiched between two water-cooled copper heat sinks using 0.2-mm-thick indium foil. The Tm laser was enclosed in a sealed box flushed with dry air. The laser beam was sigma-polarized (polarization parallel to the a-axis of the YLF crystal). The dependence of the output power of the Tm:YLF laser on the temperature of the crystal-holder at incident pump power levels of 82 W, 450 W and 550 W has been measured.

Keywords

laser beams; lithium compounds; optical pumping; solid lasers; thermo-optical effects; thulium; YLF crystal; YLF:Tm; crystal-holder; high-power diode-pumped slab laser; indium foil; laser beam; power 450 W; power 550 W; power 82 W; sealed box; sigma-polarization; size 0.2 mm; temperature dependence; water-cooled copper heat sink; Copper; Diodes; Heat pumps; Heat sinks; Laser excitation; Power generation; Power lasers; Pump lasers; Slabs; Water heating;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Lasers and Electro-Optics 2009 and the European Quantum Electronics Conference. CLEO Europe - EQEC 2009. European Conference on

Conference_Location

Munich

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-4079-5

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-4080-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/CLEOE-EQEC.2009.5192553

Filename

5192553