Broadly tunable high-power Yb:Lu_2O_3 thin disk laser with 80% slope efficiency

Abstract

We report on efficient laser operation of high quality crystalline Yb(3+):Lu(2)O(3) in thin disk configuration. Using doping concentrations between 1 at.% to 3 at.% and disk thicknesses between 0.08mm and 0.45mm the optimum crystal parameters have been determined. Pumped at 976 nm the laser operates at 1034 nm and 1080 nm. With a 0.25mm thick 3 at.% Yb:Lu(2)O(3) disk 32.6W of output power at 45.3W incident pump power with a slope efficiency of 80% and a resulting optical-to-optical efficiency of 72% have been realized. These are the highest values in terms of slope efficiency as well as optical-to-optical efficiency for an Yb-doped thin disk laser reported so far. Using an 1mm birefringent filter continuous tuning from 987 nm to 1127 nm with more than 10Wof output power over a tuning range of 90 nm has been achieved.

Structural, thermal and mechanical properties of transparent Yb:(Y0.97Zr0.03)2O3 ceramic

“…So besides the optical properties, the structural, mechanical and thermal properties are all important parameters to assess a laser material. The thermal conductivity of Lu 2 O 3 and LuAG ceramics has been reported by Peters et al, 11,12 and the thermal and mechanical properties of YAG transparent ceramic were investigated in detail. 13,14 But a sys- …”

High-power ultrafast thin disk laser oscillators and their potential for sub-100-femtosecond pulse generation

“…So far, all high-power thin disk lasers used rare-earthdoped crystalline materials such as: garnets (YAG [28], LuAG [51]), sesquioxides (Sc 2 O 3 [52], Lu 2 O 3 [20], LuScO 3 [19]), tungstates (KYW [52], KGW [52], KLuW [53], NGW [54]), vanadates (LuVO [55], YVO [55], GdVO [56]), and borates (YCOB [57], LSB [58]). The doping ions were Yb 3+ [28], Nd 3+ [59], Ho 3+ [60], and Tm 3+ [61].…”

“…Recently, there has been a large research effort to establish novel thin disk gain materials, which combine the excellent power scaling properties of Yb:YAG with a larger emission bandwidth. Novel thin disk gain materials such as Yb:Lu 2 O 3 or Yb:LuScO 3 were introduced [19,20], which resulted in higher optical-to-optical efficiencies and shorter pulse durations than previous ultrafast thin disk lasers [21,22].…”

Yb-doped mixed sesquioxides for ultrashort pulse generation in the thin disk laser setup

“…Over the last few years the cubic sesquioxides Sc 2 O 3 , Y 2 O 3 , and Lu 2 O 3 gained significant attention due to their potential for efficient high-power operation for various laser ions like Yb, Tm, Ho, and Er [1][2][3][4]. In particular, Yb-doped Lu 2 O 3 offers a very low quantum defect and high absorption cross sections when pumped at the zero phonon line.…”