Cryogenic, high power, near diffraction limited, Yb:YAG slab laser

Area of Science:

• Laser Physics
• Materials Science
• Cryogenic Engineering

Background:

• Yb:YAG lasers offer excellent properties but are limited by thermal effects at high power.
• Cryogenic temperatures significantly enhance Yb:YAG's thermo-optical and thermo-mechanical performance.
• Scaling lasers to high power requires managing heat dissipation and maintaining beam quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a high-power scalable cryogenic Yb:YAG slab laser.
• To utilize the enhanced material properties of Yb:YAG at cryogenic temperatures.
• To present the design and initial performance characterization of the cryogenic laser.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a conduction-cooled, end-pumped, zigzag slab geometry.
• Operated the Yb:YAG laser at cryogenic temperatures.
• Performed initial characterization up to 200W output power.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a robust and power-scalable laser design.
• Achieved near diffraction-limited beam quality.
• Successfully characterized the laser performance up to 200W.

Conclusions:

• The cryogenic Yb:YAG slab laser is suitable for high-power scaling.
• The design effectively exploits cryogenic benefits for improved laser performance.
• The demonstrated power levels and beam quality show promise for future high-power applications.