Preserving a diffraction-limited beam in Ho:YAG laser using coherent polarization locking

We overcome several thermal issues present in Ho:YAG lasers by distributing the gain over a larger volume and achieve a diffraction-limited beam using coherent polarization locking. Increased single-pass absorption, suppression of output power saturation, and improvement in beam quality were shown u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics letters 2012-11, Vol.37 (21), p.4621-4623
Main Authors: Tan, L H, Chua, C F, Phua, P B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Beams (radiation)
Coherence
Diffraction
Holes
Laser cavities
Lasers
Locking
Polarization
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:We overcome several thermal issues present in Ho:YAG lasers by distributing the gain over a larger volume and achieve a diffraction-limited beam using coherent polarization locking. Increased single-pass absorption, suppression of output power saturation, and improvement in beam quality were shown using the coherent polarization locking technique as compared to a conventional Ho:YAG laser cavity with the same pump and cavity configuration. Ten watts of CW Ho:YAG laser power was generated with >96% coherent combining efficiency.
ISSN:0146-9592