165-W cryogenically cooled Yb:YAG laser.
Thermo-optic distortions often limit the beam quality and power scaling of high-average-power lasers. Cryogenically cooled Yb:YAG is used to efficiently generate 165 W of near-diffraction-limited beam from a power oscillator with negligible thermo-optic effects. End pumped with 215 W of incident pump power from two diode modules, the laser has an optical-optical efficiency of 76%, a slope efficiency of 85%, and an M2 value of 1.02.
Ripin
Daniel J
DJ
MIT Lincoln Laboratory, 244 Wood Street, Lexington, Massachusetts 02420, USA. dripin@ll.mit.edu
Ochoa
Juan R
JR
Aggarwal
R L
RL
Fan
Tso Yee
TY