Cryogenically cooled, Ho:YAG, Q-switched laser

摘要

The authors report on the performance and scalability of a Q-switched, cryogenically cooled Ho:YAG laser. The Ho:YAG slab was resonantly pumped using a continuous wave thulium fibre laser, and the output energy from the oscillator was extracted using a confocal resonator with a single-pass pump geometry, resulting in 135 mJ at 200 Hz with a beam quality of M-2 < 1.14 and a slope efficiency of 66%. A maximum output energy of 165 mJ at 200 Hz was achieved. This first demonstration of a Q-switched cryogenically cooled Ho:YAG laser at high repetition rates shows great potential for further power and energy scaling.