Power and energy scaling of a diode-end-pumped Nd:YLF laser through gain optimization.
An end-pumped Nd:YLF laser was demonstrated, which delivered 60.3 W continuous-wave and more than 52 W Q-switched average power for all repetition rates from 5 to 30 kHz. To achieve this, an analytical solution to estimate and optimize the unsaturated gain in an end-pumped laser gain medium was derived. The approach presented here should open up the route for scaling end-pumped lasers to even higher power and energy levels.
Bollig
Christoph
C
National Laser Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Pretoria, South Africa. cbollig@csir.co.za
Jacobs
Cobus
C
Esser
M J Daniel
MJ
Bernhardi
Edward H
EH
von Bergmann
Hubertus M
HM
D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004867:Equipment Design; D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009354:Neodymium; D055100:Optical Fibers
D009354:Neodymium