28W average power hydrocarbon-free rubidium diode pumped alkali laser

We present experimental results for a high-power diode pumped hydrocarbon-free rubidium laser with a scalable architecture. The laser consists of a liquid cooled, copper waveguide which serves to both guide the pump light and to provide a thermally conductive surface near the gain volume to remove heat. A laser diode stack, with a linewidth narrowed to approximately 0.35 nm with volume bragg gratings, is used to pump the cell. We have achieved 24W average power output using 4 atmospheres of naturally occurring helium ((4)He) as the buffer gas and 28W using 2.8 atmospheres of (3)He.