Novel ytterbium and thulium lasers based on the monoclinic KLu(WO4)2 crystalline host

Valentin Petrov; Xavier Mateos; Simon Rivier; Oscar Silvestre; Magdalena Aguilò; Rosa Sole; Maria Cinta Pujol; Junhai Liu; Uwe Griebner; Francesc Diaz

doi:10.1117/12.726909

13 March 2007 Novel ytterbium and thulium lasers based on the monoclinic KLu(WO₄)₂ crystalline host

Valentin Petrov, Xavier Mateos, Simon Rivier, Oscar Silvestre, Magdalena Aguilò, Rosa Sole, Maria Cinta Pujol, Junhai Liu, Uwe Griebner, Francesc Diaz

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6604, 14th International School on Quantum Electronics: Laser Physics and Applications; 66040V (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.726909
Event: 14th International School on Quantum Electronics: Laser Physics and Applications, 2006, Sunny Beach, Bulgaria

Abstract

High-quality crystals of KLu(WO₄)₂, shortly KLuW, were grown with sizes sufficient for characterization of the thermomechanical and optical properties, and substantial progress was achieved in the field of spectroscopy and laser operation with Yb³⁺- and Tm³⁺-doping. We review the properties of flux grown KLuW, the Yb³⁺ and Tm³⁺ spectroscopy, and present laser results obtained in several operational regimes both with Ti:sapphire and direct diode laser pumping using InGaAs and AlGaAs diodes near 980 and 800 nm, respectively. The slope efficiencies with respect to the absorbed pump power achieved with continuous-wave (CW) bulk and epitaxial Yb:KLuW lasers under Ti:sapphire laser pumping were ≈57 and ≈66%, respectively. Output powers as high as 3.28 W were obtained with diode pumping in a simple two-mirror cavity where the slope efficiency with respect to the incident pump power reached ≈78%. Passively Q-switched laser operation of bulk Yb:KLuW was realized with a Cr:YAG saturable absorber resulting in oscillation at ≈1031 nm with a repetition rate of 28 kHz and simultaneous Raman conversion to ≈1138 nm with maximum energies of 32.4 and 14.4 &mgr;J, respectively. The corresponding pulse durations were 1.41 and 0.71 ns. Passive mode-locking by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) resulted in bandwidth-limited pulses with duration of 81 fs (1046 nm, 95 MHz) and 114 fs (1030 nm, 101 MHz) for bulk and epitaxial Yb:KLuW lasers, respectively. Slope efficiency as high as 69% with respect to the absorbed power and an output power of 4 W at 1950 nm were achieved with a diode-pumped Tm:KLuW laser. The tunability of this laser, under Ti:sapphire laser pumping, extended from 1800 to 1987 nm. An epitaxial Tm:KLuW laser provided slope efficiency as high as 64% and a tuning range from 1894 to 2039 nm when pumped by a Ti:sapphire laser.

Citation Download Citation

Valentin Petrov, Xavier Mateos, Simon Rivier, Oscar Silvestre, Magdalena Aguilò, Rosa Sole, Maria Cinta Pujol, Junhai Liu, Uwe Griebner, and Francesc Diaz "Novel ytterbium and thulium lasers based on the monoclinic KLu(WO₄)₂ crystalline host", Proc. SPIE 6604, 14th International School on Quantum Electronics: Laser Physics and Applications, 66040V (13 March 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.726909

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available