1.5  kW efficient CW Nd:YAG planar waveguide MOPA laser

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Planar waveguide lasers offer advantages in beam quality and thermal management.
• High-power solid-state lasers are crucial for various industrial and scientific applications.
• Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) is a widely used gain medium for lasers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a high-power continuous wave Nd:YAG planar waveguide laser.
• To investigate the master oscillator power amplification (MOPA) architecture for scaling output power.
• To achieve record-breaking output power for this type of laser system.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a fiber laser as the master oscillator and diode laser arrays as the pump source.
• Employed a Nd:YAG planar waveguide with dimensions 1mm(T)×10mm(W)×60mm(L).
• Implemented dual-end oblique pumping with varying angles for efficient energy transfer.

Main Results:

• Achieved a continuous wave output power of 1544 W at 1064 nm.
• Demonstrated power scaling from 323 W to 1544 W with 2480 W pump power.
• Obtained an optical-to-optical efficiency of 49% and measured beam quality M² of 2.8 (guided) and 7.0 (unguided).

Conclusions:

• The developed Nd:YAG planar waveguide laser represents the highest output power reported to date for this technology.
• The MOPA configuration with dual-end oblique pumping is effective for high-power laser generation.
• This work paves the way for more powerful and efficient waveguide laser systems.