《Progress in Long-Wavelength High-Power Diode Laser Pump Sources》.pdf

Progress in Long-Wavelength High-Power Diode Laser Pump Sources Paul Leisher*, Kirk Price, Keith Kennedy, Weimin Dong, Mike Grimshaw, Shiguo Zhang, Sandrio Elim, Jason Patterson, Mike Bougher, Suhit Das, Utsu Trifan, David Dawson, Dennis McCal, Aaron Hodges, Scott Karlsen, Rob Martinsen, Jake Bell, Paul Crump†, and Steve Patterson nLIGHT Corporation th 5408 NE 88 St. Bldg. E Vancouver, WA 98665 † Now with Ferdinand Braun Institut., Gustav-Kirchoff-strasse 4, 12489 Berlin, Germany A variety of applications are driving development of high power laser diodes operating between 1.4 and 2.1 µm. For example, Er-doped solid state and fiber lasers offer “eye-safe” alternatives to Nd- and Yb- doped lasers for use in military and industrial applications including range-finding, illumination, flash/scanning LADAR, and materials processing. Due to a reduction in quantum defect, direct diode pumping of Er lasers around 1.5 µm offers the potential for greatly increased system efficiency, reduced system complexity/cost, and further power scalability [1-2]. As another example, military, space, and medical applications benefiting from emission around 2.1 µm are driving development of Ho:YAG solid state lasers [3]. Efficient pumping of these systems can be achieved through direct diode pumping at 1.9 µm [4]. In this work, we describe recent progress in the development of high-power long-wavelength diode laser pump