We describe a power scaling strategy for longitudinally diode-pumped Tm:YLF lasers based on optimisation of the thulium doping level and the gain geometry. Carefully designed laser experiments at lower powers are shown to allow a simple means for accurately predicting the thermal loading and hence the power scaling properties of this system, including the effects of ground-state depletion, cross-relaxation and energy transfer upconversion. An optimised doping level of 2at.% and a slab geometry are shown experimentally to allow scaling of a single gain unit to output powers of ~70W, limited by the available pump power, and a strategy for scaling well beyond 100W output is discussed.
We present a novel, compact and power scalable Ho:YAG laser based on intracavity side-pumping by a high-power Tm:YLF slab laser. 14W of continuous wave output power is obtained at 2.09µm in the current experiments, with the clear prospect of reaching the 100W regime in a power scaled version.
The Laser Induced Medium Perturbation (LIMP) effect is shown to be a volumetric effect which plays a significant role in the beam quality obtainable from a CO2 laser employing a continuously coupled unstable resonator.
Experiments are described and results presented of measurements of the propagation losses of 10-μm radiation in hollow dielectric tubes of the type commonly used in the fabrication of waveguide CO2 lasers. The dependence of such losses on the waveguide diameter and material were investiated and are compared with values calculated from theory. The attenuation coefficient of the fundamental hybrid EH11 mode is seen to vary inversely as the diameter cubed and to be very sensitive to tube camber and to the presence of impurities adhering to the wall surface.
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