title: 300 W continuous-wave operation of a diode edge-pumped, hybrid composite Yb:YAG microchip laser.
abstract: 300 W continuous-wave operation of a diode edge-pumped, hybrid (single-crystal/ceramic) composite,Yb3+:YAG microchip laser with a 5 mm diameter and 300 microm thickness single-crystal core uniformly bonded to a water-cooled heat sink by a new Au-Sn soldering system has been demonstrated. The beam quality factor M2 follows the mode mismatch between the core and the fundamental mode and was improved to 17 with a maximum output power of 230 W. A thermally induced convex mirror with a spherical radius of curvature ranging from -2.5 to -1.5 m was observed; the radius of curvature decreases through thermal deformation of the microchip as the pump power increases.
authors.affiliation: Laser Research Center, Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), Myodaiji, Okazaki Aichi, Japan. tsune@ims.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsunekane
authors.forename: Takunori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Taira