Cryogenic laser operation of a “mixed” Yb:LuYAG garnet crystal

Identifier:  imarina:9295074

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina9295074

Authors:  Slimi, Sami; Jambunathan, Venkatesan; Pan, Mingyan; Wang, Yicheng; Chen, Weidong; Loiko, Pavel; Sole, Rosa Maria; Aguilo, Magdalena; Diaz, Francesc; Smrz, Martin; Mocek, Tomas; Mateos, Xavier

Abstract:
We report on the continuous-wave and passively Q-switched operation of a compositionally “mixed” heavily doped 16.6 at.% Yb:(Y,Lu)3Al5O12 garnet crystal at cryogenic temperatures (100–200 K), pumped by a volume Bragg grating stabilized diode laser emitting at 969 nm. At 140 K, in the continuous-wave regime, a maximum output power of 10.65 W was achieved at ~ 1029 nm with a slope efficiency of 56% (versus the incident pump power), a laser threshold of 1.05 W and excellent beam quality. Using Cr4+:YAG as a saturable absorber, the passively Q-switched laser generated pulses with an energy/duration of 0.15 mJ/201 ns, respectively, at a repetition rate of 39.7 kHz, corresponding to a peak power of 0.39 kW.