Thermal management investigations in ceramic thin disk lasers

Abstract

Directed energy applications for thin disk lasers demand improvements in materials, efficiency, thermal management, and most importantly beam quality. At the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate ceramic Yb:YAG materials are being investigated along with various cooling techniques. 10-14mm diameter 0.2mm thick disks are mounted on silicon carbide (SiC), sapphire, and diamond submounts. From a larger platform, more than 6kW power is obtained from unmounted and sub-mounted 35mm diameter disks. In conjunction with thermal modeling, we project a path towards high performance high power lasers.