Angela Pirri

Tunability enhancement of Yb:YLF based laser

We present a comprehensive characterization of a laser, based on a high-quality heavily doped Yb:YLF crystal. The analysis includes the comparison of the laser efficiency in respect of the absorbed pump for both pi and sigma-polarization. In particular, for the tunable laser, we report an enhancement of the tuning range obtained by adapting the output coupler transmission in respect of the lasing wavelength. The experimental results obtained for various output coupling have also been compared with a numerical model in order to give information for a further enlargement of the tuning range.

First laser emission of Yb 0.15 :(Lu 0.5 Y 0.5 ) 3 Al 5 O 12 ceramics

We report the first laser oscillation on Yb_0.15:(Lu_0.5Y_0.5)₃Al₁₂ ceramics at room temperature. At 1030 nm we measured a maximum output power of 7.3 W with a corresponding slope efficiency of 55.4% by using an output coupler with a transmission of T = 39.2%. The spectroscopic properties are compared with those of the two parent garnets Yb:YAG and Yb:LuAG. To the best of our knowledge these are the first measurements reported in literature achieved with this new host.

Spectroscopic and laser characterization of Yb 0.15 :(Lu x Y 1-x ) 3 Al 5 O 12 ceramics with different Lu/Y balance.

We report a broad comparative analysis of the spectroscopic and laser properties of solid solution Lutetium-Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (LuYAG, (LuxY1-x)3Al5O12) ceramics doped with Yb. The investigation was mainly aimed to assess the impact of the Lu/Y ratio on the Yb optical and laser properties. Therefore we analyzed a set of samples with different Y/Lu balance, namely 25/75, 50/50 and 75/25, with 15% Yb doping. We found that the Yb absorption and emission spectra changed from YAG to LuAG when gradually increasing in Lu content. Regarding the laser emission, remarkable results were achieved with all samples. Maximum output power was 8.2 W, 7.3 W and 8.7 W for Y/Lu balance 25/75, 50/50 and 75/25 respectively, at 1030 nm; the slope efficiency and the optical-to-optical efficiencies approached or exceeded 60% and 50% respectively. The tuning range was investigated using an intracavity ZnSe prism. The broadest tuning range (998 nm to 1063 nm) was obtained with Y/Lu balance 75/25, whereas the emission of the other two samples extended from 1000 nm to 1058 nm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comparative analysis of Yb:LuYAG ceramics or crystals as laser host across such a broad range of Y/Lu ratios.

Characterization of the lasing properties of a 5%Yb doped Lu 2 SiO 5 crystal along its three principal dielectric axes

The laser performance of a 5% Yb doped Lu2SiO5 (Yb:LSO) has been investigated in quasi continuous-wave pumping regime along the three principal dielectric axes of the crystal, to obtain a complete characterization of its laser properties. The comparison among the obtained results for differently polarized lasers, in term of relative slope efficiency and absolute efficiency, allows the exploitability of different orientations of the material in order to be determined to obtain efficient laser sources. The laser slope efficiency and the energy conversion efficiency were similar for emission polarized along the three indicatrix axes, with noticeable maximum values of slope efficiency around 90% for polarization along the Y and Z axes. Tunable laser action has been obtained in the range 990 nm - 1084 nm, with sizeable differences in the shape of the tuning curve for polarization along the X, Y and Z axes. In particular, the tuning for polarization along the Z axis is relatively flat and uniform in the range 1023 nm - 1083 nm.

Laser and optical properties of Yb:YAG ceramics with layered doping distribution: design, characterization and evaluation of different production processes

The laser, optical and spectroscopic properties of multilayer Yb:YAG ceramic structures, differently activated, were investigated. The structures were designed by means of Finite Element Modeling, adjusting the doping distributions to reduce peak temperature, surface deformation and thermally induced stresses, depending on the pump and cooling geometry. Two ceramic processes were used, i.e. dry pressing of spray-dried powders (SD) and tape casting (TC), resulting in different defect density and size distribution: TC gives a more uniform transmission, whereas SD results in larger, unevenly scattered defects. The spectroscopic properties were found independent from the production process. The laser performance has been characterized under high intensity pumping in a longitudinally diode pumped laser cavity, comparing the behavior of the different structures in terms of slope efficiency, stability under increasing thermal load, spatial uniformity of laser emission. Slope efficiency values as high as 58% in Quasi-CW pumping conditions and 54% in CW conditions was measured in two-layers structures. The production process and the number of layers influenced the behavior of the samples, in particular regarding the spatial uniformity of the laser emission. Samples made by tape casting have shown overall a better thermal stability with respect to the samples made by spray drying.

Characterization of Yb:YAG active slab media based on a layered structure with different doping

Slabs with non-uniform doping distribution are studied with the aim of reducing thermal deformations in high-energy high-average-power Yb:YAG slab systems. We present a numerical analysis based on Finite Element Mesh (FEM) methods suitable to model non-uniform devices. The thermal variation of the refractive index, the end-faces deformations and the photo-elastic effect have been calculated in order to estimate the total thermal-lens effect. The stress distributions are also obtained. Some results of this numerical approach are compared to experimental thermal lens measurements in a simple geometry for both uniform and structured samples, in order to validate the numerical procedures. Finally we compare numerical simulations for different single- or double-sided pumping and cooling geometries. They show that structured slabs can reduce thermal gradients with respect to uniformly doped means with comparable absorption and geometry. This means a reduction of thermal lens effect and thus an increase of maximum allowed pump power loading. Previous literature reports some work made with structured slabs where higher doping was located in layers with lower pump radiation levels, in order to get a more uniform absorption. Interestingly our modeling indicates that reduced thermal effects are instead obtained when a higher doping is located close to the cooled surfaces.

Spectroscopy and CW first laser operation of Yb-doped Gd 3 (Al 0.5 Ga 0.5 ) 5 O 12 crystal

We present the spectroscopic characterization and laser operation of a 2%at. Yb doped Gd3(Al0.5Ga0.5)5O12 (Yb:GAGG) crystal, grown with the Czochralski method. We determined the absorption and the emission spectrum, the upper level lifetime, and the thermal conductivity. The internal disordered structure determines a significant broadening of the emission band (12.1 nm FWHM) with respect to the parent composition Yb:GGG (8 nm FWHM). The laser performances were evaluated on an end pumped cavity, using a CW semiconductor laser as the pump source. We obtained a maximum slope efficiency of 60.8% and an optical to optical efficiency of 46.0%, with a maximum output power of 4 W, limited only by the available pump power. The tuning range extends from 995 nm to 1050 nm. To our knowledge this is the first spectroscopic investigation and the first assessment of the laser performance of an Yb:GAGG crystal with this composition (i.e. Al/Ga balance = 0.5/0.5).

First laser operation and spectroscopic characterization of mixed garnet Yb:LuYAG ceramics

We present the optical and spectroscopic characterization and the first example of laser operation of Yb doped LuYAG ceramics, with two different compositions, namely (Lu0.25Y0.75)3Al5O12 and (Lu0.50Y0.50)3Al5O12, both with 15% Yb doping. Ceramic samples were prepared by reactive sintering from high purity α-Al2O3, Lu2O3, Y2O3, Yb2O3 powders using Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and MgO as sintering aids. After ball milling, the slurry was dried, uniaxially pressed into 20 mm diameter pellets at 20 MPa, and then cold isostatically pressed at 200 MPa. Sintering was conducted at 1850°C for 30 h under vacuum, followed by annealing in air (1500 °C, 10 h) to remove the oxygen vacancies. Laser tests were carried out in a laser cavity end pumped by a fiber coupled diode laser emitting at 936 nm. A slope efficiency as high as 65.2% with a maximum output power of 8.7 W (in quasi-CW pumping conditions) was obtained from the sample with composition (Lu0.25Y0.75)3Al5O12, whereas the sample with composition (Lu0.50Y0.50)3Al5O12 had a maximum slope efficiency of 49.5% (due to the higher scattering losses), and 6.7 W of maximum output power. Furthermore we characterized the tuning range of the two samples.

A Comprehensive Characterization of a 10 at.% Yb:YSAG Laser Ceramic Sample

We report a comprehensive characterization of a 10 at.% Yb3+-doped YSAG (Yb:Y3ScxAl(5−x)O12, x = 1.5) ceramic, including microstructural, spectroscopic and laser properties. Moreover, we illustrate and discuss the fabrication technique. Yb3+ in YSAG features a broader absorption and emission band than in traditional YAG, which is advantageous for laser applications (i.e., tunable laser sources, ultrafast pulse generation). Pumping in a quasi continuous wave regime at 936 nm, the ceramic has shown good laser performance as the maximum output power was 6.3 W with a corresponding slope efficiency (ηs) of 67.8%. In continuous wave regime instead, the maximum output power was 5 W with ηs = 52.7%. The laser emission wavelengths in free running were λL = 1051 nm and λL = 1031 nm, depending on the output coupler transmission. Finally, by a tunable cavity we obtained laser emission spanning from 991.5 to 1073 nm, i.e., 81.5 nm, which is the broadest tuning range ever reported for this material, to the best of our knowledge.

Yb:Lu2SiO5 crystal : characterization of the laser emission along the three dielectric axes

Yb:doped Lu2SiO5 (Lutetium orthosilicate, LSO) is an optically biaxial crystal with laser emission in the range 1000- 1100 nm. It features different absorption and emission spectra for polarization along its three dielectric axes. In this work we have characterized the laser emission properties of Yb:LSO along all the three dielectric axis, evidencing differences that can be exploited in the design of ultrafast laser sources. The material was tested in a longitudinally pumped laser cavity. The laser emission efficiency was found similar along all the three dielectric axes, with slope efficiencies around 90% in most cases. Regarding the tuning range, for the most favourable polarization direction we obtained a continuously tunable emission between 993 and 1088 nm (i. e. 95 nm) peaked at 1040 nm. The tuning curves along the three dielectric axes spanned similar ranges but with relevant differences in the shape.