Title :
Power scaling Cr2+ lasers to the multi-watt regime
Author :
McKay, Jason ; Schepler, Kenneth L.
Author_Institution :
Air Force Inst. of Technol., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, USA
Abstract :
This paper reviews the state of the art in Cr2+ lasers and investigates advanced resonator designs for use with available Cr 2+ materials and pump lasers to increase the output power of the Cr2+ laser beyond the 2-watt level. It is found that the thin disk laser design is the most attractive option available for the demonstration of a 5-10 watt Cr2+ laser. The additional pumping optics required in the thin disk laser geometry are more than offset by the mitigation of thermal lensing and efficient operation at powers unobtainable with end-pumped rod designs
Keywords :
chromium; laser cavity resonators; optical pumping; solid lasers; zinc compounds; 5 to 10 W; Cr2+:ZnSe thin disk lasers; ZnSe:Cr; multi-watt regime; output power; power scaling; pump lasers; pumping optics; resonator designs; thermal lensing; zig-zag slab laser; Chromium; Geometrical optics; Laser excitation; Optical design; Optical materials; Optical pumping; Optical resonators; Power generation; Power lasers; Pump lasers;
Conference_Titel :
Lasers and Electro-Optics Society, 2001. LEOS 2001. The 14th Annual Meeting of the IEEE
Conference_Location :
San Diego, CA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7105-4
DOI :
10.1109/LEOS.2001.969313
