Ytterbium laser with reduced thermal loading

We report a novel design for a high-power ytterbium disk laser. This laser utilizes radial diode pumping of a back surface cooled active-mirror geometry. Wing absorption of the pump light at 0.99 mu m allows efficient laser operation at 1.05 mu m with a low quantum defect. Laser performance and thermal loading were characterized for a wide range of conditions. Optimized operation of the laser yielded 490 W in a quasi-continuous-wave mode. Electrical efficiency of the laser was found to be 9.4%, while heating of the laser disk was only 3.2% of the absorbed optical power. Fluorescence re-absorption is identified as the principal heat generation mechanism in this laser. A simplified extension to the conventional rate model is proposed for lasing in radiation-trapped systems. This model allows power flow calculations in a radiation-trapped laser system using a single parameter determined from fluorescence decay waveforms. The revised model agrees with heat load measurements.