Near fundamental mode 1.1 kW Yb:YAG thin-disk laser.
We report on a Yb:YAG thin-disk laser with 1.1 kW output power and beam quality factor M²<1.4 using a simple stable resonator comprising just a single cavity mirror and a single thin disk, without the use of any aspherical elements or any adaptive optics. An optical-to-optical efficiency of 40% was obtained. The cavity was designed to give good beam quality and low misalignment sensitivity to maintain stable and robust laser operation throughout the changes in the thin-disk curvature. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time an output power beyond 1 kW has been achieved from a single thin-disk laser in near fundamental mode operation (M²<1.4).
DSO National Laboratories, Singapore. pyuanha2@dso.org.sg
Yuan Han
YH
Peng
Yu Xian
YX
Lim
James
J
Cheng
Yipei
Y
Guo
Yan Ying
YY
Cheah
Kin Seng
KS
Lai