Tengfei Xie

Fabrication of composite YAG/Nd:YAG/YAG transparent ceramics for planar waveguide laser

Composite YAG/Nd:YAG/YAG transparent ceramics for planar waveguide laser were fabricated by non-aqueous tape casting and solid-state reactive sintering. The slurry made from the oxide powder mixtures shows a shear thinning behavior. The morphologies of the tapes were homogeneous in structure, and the tapes had appropriate strength and toughness. After calcining at 600°C for 10h in air, the samples contained less than 0.05wt.% of carbon. No gaps were found between the layers on the fracture surface of the green body compacted by cold isostatic pressing. The composite YAG/Nd:YAG/YAG transparent ceramics with in-line transmittance of 82.5% at 1064nm were obtained by vacuum-sintering at 1760°C for 30h, whose average grain size is 36.8μm. The diffusion distance of the Nd3+ ions was about 150μm along the thickness direction of the ceramics.

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.

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.