Diode End-Pumped 1.37 W Er:YSGG Continuous-Wave Laser Around 2.8-μm

• Published in: IEEE photonics technology letters 2021-06, Vol.33 (12), p.611-614
• Main Authors: Hu, Lunzhen, Sun, Dunlu, Zhang, Huili, Luo, Jianqiao, Quan, Cong, Han, Zhiyuan, Dong, Kunpeng, Chen, Yuwei, Cheng, Maojie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Continuous wave lasers; Crystals; Doping; Er³⁺ doping concentration; high power; High power lasers; Laser excitation; Laser modes; Laser outputs; laser performance; Lasers; mid-infrared laser; Power generation; Power lasers; Pump lasers; Q factors
• ISSN: 1041-1135; 1941-0174
• DOI: 10.1109/LPT.2021.3078779

We demonstrate the laser performance of a LD end-pumped Er:YSGG crystals with different doping concentrations comparatively. The experimental results show that 30 at. % Er:YSGG crystal with dimensions of 2 mm \times2 mm \times8 mm has the best laser output. In continuous-wave (CW) mode and pulse mode, the maximum output powers of 1.37 and 1.20 W are achieved, corresponding to slope efficiencies of 23.62% and 22.91%, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, compared with other Er ^{3+} -doped garnet laser crystals, we obtained a larger power and higher efficiency CW laser simultaneously for LD end-pumped Er:YSGG crystal. The beam quality factor M 2 in x and y directions are determined to be 1.64/1.65, suggesting the Er:YSGG laser possesses a higher beam quality. All these results indicate that Er:YSGG is a promising mid-infrared gain medium for high efficiency and high power laser operation.