High-power CW diode-pumped laser operation of Yb~(3+):CaF_2 crystal

摘要

We present here the first CW high power laser operation obtained under diode-pumping with an Yb~(3+):CaF_2 crystal. This crystal exhibits good thermo-optical properties and can easily be grown in bulk crystals or in thin films. A maximum power of 5.8 W in a diffraction limited beam has been obtained with a 5% ytterbium-doped crystal of 4 mm-long. Moreover, the laser wavelength has been tuned over 54 nm, between 1018 and 1072 nm, and the double-pass small-signal gain has been measured to be more than 1.8, showing the great potential of Yb~(3+):CaF_2 as a gain media for ultra-short pulses operation or as amplifier.