Abstract
Solar-pumped lasers (SPLs) allow direct solar-to-laser power conversion, and hence, provide an opportunity to harness a renewable energy source. Herein, we report significant improvements in end-side-pumped solar laser collection efficiency and beam brightness using a novel 1.5-m-diameter compound solar concentrator combining a Fresnel lens and modified parabolic mirror. A key component of this scheme is the off-axis-focused parabolic mirror. An original dual-parabolic pump cavity is another feature. To determine the dependence of the SPL performance on the distance between the focus and central axis of the modified parabolic mirror, several systems with different distances were optimized using TracePro and ASLD software. It was numerically calculated that end-side pumping a 5-mm-diameter, 22-mm-long Nd:YAG crystal rod would generate 74.6 W of continuous-wave solar laser power at a collection efficiency of 42.2 W/m2, i.e., 1.1 times greater than the previous record value. Considering the laser beam quality, a brightness figure of 0.063 W was obtained, which is higher than that of other multimode SPL designs with end-side pumping. Thus, our SPL concentrator offers the possibility of achieving a beam quality as high as that obtainable via side pumping, alongside highly efficient energy conversion, which is characteristic to end-side pumping.
Highlights
Academic Editor: Tapas MallickSolar energy, as a desirable renewable energy source, has become increasingly important because of the need to reduce fossil fuel consumption and the deterioration of the global environment
A series of optimizations performed using the TracePro and ASLD simulation software packages ensured that, when combined with a novel dual-parabolic pump cavity, the solar radiation collected by this solar concentrator was uniformly and efficiently absorbed by a 5-mm-diameter, 22-mm-long Nd:YAG single-crystal laser rod
The solar laser head of this system was composed of a dual-parabolic-surface pump cavity and a liquid light guide lens (LLGL) (Figure 5), within which was mounted a 5-mmdiameter Nd:YAG single-crystal laser rod with a high-reflection (HR) coating optimized for 1064 nm on the front face and an antireflection (AR) coating for the same wavelength on the back face
Summary
As a desirable renewable energy source, has become increasingly important because of the need to reduce fossil fuel consumption and the deterioration of the global environment. To obtain appreciable laser output power, parabolic mirrors with large collection areas, for example, 78.5 m2 [8], 50.2 m2 [9], 38.5 m2 [10], and 6.75 m2 [11], were used to concentrate solar radiation on laser media in early studies. In 2007, Yabe et al obtained an 18.7 W/m2 laser collection efficiency by end pumping a 9-mm-diameter, 100-mm-long Cr:Nd:YAG ceramic rod using a 1.3-m2 Fresnel lens [12]. In 2018, Guan et al achieved a 32.1-W/m2 laser collection efficiency with the use of a 1.03-m2 Fresnel lens for end-side pumping a 6-mm-diameter, 95-mm-long Nd:YAG–YAG-bonded crystal rod [15]. A series of optimizations performed using the TracePro and ASLD simulation software packages ensured that, when combined with a novel dual-parabolic pump cavity, the solar radiation collected by this solar concentrator was uniformly and efficiently absorbed by a 5-mm-diameter, 22-mm-long Nd:YAG single-crystal laser rod.
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