Single crystalline laser heated pedestal grown YAG waveguide laser performance (Conference Presentation)

Abstract

The need for high power, physically robust infrared laser systems that are capable of functioning in extreme environments has fueled the need to look for alternatives to the current state-of-the-art glass fiber sources. In particular, improvements to thermal management and a low stimulated Brillion scattering threshold are needed to increase the average output power of glass fiber systems. Rare earth (RE) doped single crystal fiber lasers have been proposed as a potential alternative with improved thermal management issues and a decreased SBS threshold. Recently, high-quality single crystal RE doped YAG fibers grown using laser heated pedestal growth (LHPG) have become commercially available [1]. LHPG has the potential to deliver flexible fiber sources that have the advantages of both single crystals and fibers, at a fraction of the cost of current bulk growth methods. Although LHPG single crystal fibers have demonstrated lasing, significant optimization of the fiber parameters must be done before they are suitable replacements for state-of-the-art laser fibers. In this study, the lasing properties of LHPG single crystal RE doped YAG fibers will be investigated to determine the efficiencies, loss mechanisms, and optimal doping levels for maximum output. The results will be discussed and possible design improvements will be proposed for future work. [1] G. Maxwell et al., Proc. SPIE 8733, 1-8 2013.