First laser oscillation and broad tunability of 1  at % Yb-doped Sc_2O_3 and Lu_2O_3 ceramics

Abstract

We report the first oscillation achieved on 1 at. % Yb-doped Sc2O3 and Lu2O3 ceramics under quasi-CW pumping at 968 nm. With Sc2O3 we measured a maximum output power of 2.2 W with a slope efficiency of 59% at 1040.5 nm. Comparable results are obtained with Lu2O3 at 1032.5 nm, i.e., 1.8 W with a corresponding slope of 45%, while at 1078 nm we measured 1.5 W with 34% of slope efficiency. Finally, we present the range of tunability, which exceeds 41 nm for both samples. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first measurements reported in literature either in terms of laser emission or continuous tunability range achieved with 1 at. % doping level.

Fabrication and laser operation of Yb:Lu2O3 transparent ceramics from co‐precipitated nano‐powders

“…In this way, the average thermal path length between the pumped volume and the cooled surface is only about 1.5 mm, thus ensuring an adequate heat dissipation. This cooling scheme was used in previous laser experiments, and it was found effective up to average pumping power of some tens of watts . The sample was pumped by a fiber‐coupled laser diode which emits at 929.4 nm with a Gaussian pump intensity distribution in the region of the focal plane (ie, waist radius around 65 µm at 1/e 2 , measured with a CCD camera, numerical aperture of the pump beam 0.22).…”

Transparent Ceramics

“…Pb(Zn 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 (PZN) single crystal exhibits outstanding dielectric and electrostrictive properties and also shows a very large electro-optic coefficient [238][239][240][241]. However, single-phase PZN ceramics cannot be prepared due to the thermodynamics inhibition.…”

“…As a result, freeze-drying is able to produce powder with very fine particle sizes. In this respect, freeze-drying is more efficient in producing fine particles than the other spray drying techniques, as demonstrated in various materials, including Al 2 O 3 [233], Y 2 O 3 [234], ZrO 2 [235][236][237], MgAl 2 O 4 [238][239][240][241], YAG [7,140,242,243] and mullite [244]. Selected examples are discussed in a more detailed way as follows.…”

“…Additional strategy is the use of selective optical components. [6,234,235,[239][240][241] ceramic lasers have been continuously improved, due to the constant improvement in laser materials and laser designs. Slope efficiencies of >80 % and an optical-optical efficiencies of >70 % for the transition of 2 F 5/2 (1) → 2 F 7/2 (4) have been widely reported.…”

Laser Performance of 1% at. Yb : Lu2O3 Ceramic

“…To focus on Lu 2 O 3 [23], this is quite interesting for two main reasons. First, it has a high undoped thermal conductivity, (i.e., K = 12.2 W/mK measured at 50…”