Carolin Rothhardt

BBO-sapphire sandwich structure for frequency conversion of high power lasers

We report on successful joining of a beta barium borate crystal by plasma-activated direct bonding. Based on this technology, a sandwich structure consisting of a beta barium borate crystal, joined with two sapphire heat spreaders has been fabricated. Due to the high thermal conductivity of sapphire, the sandwich structure possesses superior thermal properties compared to the single crystal. Simulations based on the finite element method indicate a significant reduction of thermal gradients and the resulting mechanical stresses. A proof of principle experiment demonstrates the high power capability of the fabricated structure. A pulsed fiber laser emitting up to 253 W average power has been frequency doubled with both a single BBO crystal and the fabricated sandwich structure. The bonded stack showed better heat dissipation and less thermo-optical beam distortion than the single crystal. The work demonstrates the huge potential of optical sandwich structures with enhanced functionality. In particular, frequency conversion at average powers in the kW range with excellent beam quality will be feasible in future.

100 W average power femtosecond laser at 343 nm

We present a femtosecond laser system delivering up to 100 W of average power at 343 nm. The laser system employs a Yb-based femtosecond fiber laser and subsequent second- and third-harmonic generation in beta barium borate (BBO) crystals. Thermal gradients within these BBO crystals are mitigated by sapphire heat spreaders directly bonded to the front and back surface of the crystals. Thus, a nearly diffraction-limited beam quality (M2 < 1.4) is achieved, despite the high thermal load to the nonlinear crystals. This laser source is expected to push many industrial and scientific applications in the future.

Fabrication of a high power Faraday isolator by direct bonding

With increasing output power of lasers, absorption in optical components grows larger and demands on heat withdrawal become challenging. We report on the fabrication of a Faraday isolator for high power fiber laser applications (P = 1 kW) at a wavelength of 1080 nm and operation at ambient conditions. We investigate direct bonding of Terbium Gallium Garnet to sapphire disks, to benefit from the good heat spreading properties (having a 6-fold higher thermal conductivity than TGG) at high transparency of the latter. Successful bonding was achieved by extensive cleaning of the plane and smooth surfaces prior to low pressure plasma activation. The surfaces to be bonded were then contacted in a vacuum environment at elevated temperature under axial load. Our measurements show that the bonded interface has no measurable influence on transmission properties and bonded samples are stable for laser output powers of at least 260 W. As compared to a single Terbium Gallium Garnet substrate, wavefront aberrations were significantly decreased by bonding sapphire disks to Terbium Gallium Garnet.

BBO sapphire compound for high-power frequency conversion

Lasers used for diverse applications from industry to fundamental science tend to increasing output powers. Some applications require frequency conversion via nonlinear optical crystals, which suffer from the formation of temperature gradients at high power operation which causes thermal lensing or destruction of the crystal due to tensile stresses. To avoid these unwanted effects we joined a beta barium borate (BBO) crystal with sapphire disks serving as effective heat spreaders due to their high thermal conductivity (thermal conductivity κ = 42 W/Km). Therefore, smooth and flat crystal surfaces were joined by plasma-activated bonding. The joining relies on covalent bonds, which are formed via a condensation reaction of the surfaces which are first connected by Van der Waals forces. The cleaned surfaces are activated by plasma and brought into contact, pressed together and heat treated at a temperature of about 100°C. Special attention has been paid to the cleaning of the surfaces. Therefor the surfaces have been evaluated before and after treatment by means of atomic force microscopy. A stable connection has been formed successfully, which has been tested in a proof of principle experiment and demonstrated efficient second harmonic generation at up to 253 W of input power. Compared to a bare single BBO crystal it could be shown that the temperature within the crystal compound is significantly reduced. Such hybrid structures pave the way for frequency conversion at kilowatts of average power for future high power lasers.

BBO-sapphire sandwich structures for high power frequency conversion

We fabricated a BBO sapphire sandwich structure by direct non-adhesive bonding. Frequency doubling with a high average power fiber laser demonstrated improved heat dissipation and reduced thermo-optical beam distortion compared to a BBO single crystal.

Silicate and direct bonding of low thermal expansion materials

Joining of materials becomes an issue, when high stability at large temperature variation is required. Stress from thermal mismatch of auxiliary materials and corresponding distortions are often unavoidable. We describe the use of two inorganic bonding technologies for joining low thermal expansion glasses. The techniques of silicate and direct bonding were applied to join ultra-low thermal expansion glass elements of 150 mm diameter to from light-weight and high precision opto-mechanical compounds. Related bond strengths were investigated on separate reference specimen. Dimensional stability of the bonded systems during thermal cycling in vacuum was investigated by Fizeau interferometry at temperatures between 78 K and 335 K with high accuracy. The results illustrate the great potential of both bonding technologies for glass based precision engineering applications to be used under highly demanding environmental conditions, like in space.