Abstract
An overview of the latest developments of kilowatt-level diode pumped solid state lasers for advanced applications at the HiLASE Centre is presented. An overview of subcontracted and in-house-developed laser beamlines is presented. The aim of development is to build kW-class beamlines delivering picosecond pulses between 1- and 100-kHz repetition rates and high-energy nanosecond pulses at 10 Hz. The picosecond beamlines are based on Yb:YAG thin-disk amplifiers and chirped pulse amplification. The current status of the beamlines’ performance is reported. The advantages of zero-phonon line and pulsed pumping are demonstrated with respect to efficiency, thin disk temperature and beam quality. New diagnostics methods supporting the high average power lasers’ development, such as the high-resolution spectroscopy of Yb-doped materials, in situ thin disk deformation measurements, single-shot M2 measurement, realization of wavefront correction by a deformable mirror and the laser performance of a new mixed garnet ceramics, are described. The energetic, thermal and fluid-mechanical numerical modeling for the optimization of the multi-slab amplifiers is also described.
Highlights
High average power lasers are needed to increase the processing speed in industrial applications and to increase the signal-to-noise ratio in many scientific applications
The zero-phonon line pumping reduces the heat generated in the laser medium
Suppression of the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and laser-induced damage of the Yb-doped materials (Yb):YAG thin disk and BBO Pockels cell are the key issues of the ring amplifier
Summary
High average power lasers are needed to increase the processing speed in industrial applications and to increase the signal-to-noise ratio in many scientific applications. Increasing the average power of lasers needs active laser media with a low quantum defect, efficient heat removal and good overlap between their absorption line and pump radiation. In short-pulse high average power lasers, the popular Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet) active medium has been replaced by Yb:YAG (ytterbium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet). Among the most popular geometries are fiber [8], thin-disk [9] and Innoslab concepts [10,11] These geometries are mainly used for moderate (kHz) and high (MHz) pulse repetition rates of laser amplifiers. Higher pulse energies (>1 J) at lower repetition rates (10 Hz, 100 Hz) have been achieved by using conventional designs [12], thick disks [13,14,15,16], total reflection active mirrors (TRAM) [17] or multi-slabs [18,19]. The development is supported by several diagnostic and optimization methods, developed at the HiLASE, that are mentioned in the last section
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