In this paper, we summarize the performance of a diamond cooled diode pumped solid state (DPSS) Nd:YAG laser developed by Textron Systems Corporation (TCS). Over 50% intrinsic extraction efficiency at 50-Watts average power, equivalent to volumetric power extraction of 2000 W/cc, has been experimentally demonstrated. Beam quality (BQ) of less than 1.1 XDL has been measured in an oscillator configuration with the laser operating in TEM 00 mode. With a simple passive thermal lens correction, BQ of less than 1.5 XDL was obtained from an oscillator amplifier arrangement at specific pump rates up to 1600 W/cc and 600 W/cc, respectively. By using an intra-cavity acousto-optic modulator, Q-switched laser pulses as short as 6 ns were obtained from the oscillator. This concept is amenable to scaling up to very high power levels. A conceptual design, using our validated database, for a 100-kW class laser is also presented.

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