Composite Nd:YAG-SiC-bonding laser with orthogonal-linear-polarization output

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics

Background:

• High-power solid-state lasers face challenges with heat dissipation, leading to thermal lensing and optical distortions.
• Efficient heat management is crucial for maintaining laser performance and beam quality under high power operation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate a composite gain configuration for improved heat removal in Nd:YAG lasers.
• To achieve simultaneous, orthogonally polarized, high-power laser output.
• To explore the impact of output coupler transmission on polarized output characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Bonding multiple Nd:YAG gain elements to 4H-SiC wafers to create a composite structure.
• Utilizing near Brewster's angle incidence and polarization discrimination to generate dual-polarized beams.
• Systematically varying output coupler transmission to analyze polarized output power and efficiency.

Main Results:

• The composite laser design effectively mitigated thermal issues, enabling high-power operation.
• Simultaneous S- and P-polarized beams were generated with distinct wavelengths (1063.7 nm and 1064.3 nm).
• A maximum total output power of 6.75 W was achieved with a slope efficiency of 25.7% using a T = 1.3% output coupler.

Conclusions:

• Bonding gain media to high-thermal-conductivity SiC wafers is a viable strategy for high-power solid-state lasers.
• The developed laser system offers a new approach for generating multiple, polarized, high-beam-quality laser outputs.
• This composite laser scheme paves the way for advanced laser technologies requiring efficient heat management and tailored polarization characteristics.