Abstract

The advent of large transparent ceramics is one of the key enabling technological advances that have shown that the development of very high average power compact solid state lasers is achievable. Large ceramic neodymium doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) amplifier slabs are used in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Solid State Heat Capacity Laser (SSHCL), which has achieved world record average output powers in excess of 67 kilowatts. We will describe the attributes of using large transparent ceramics, our present system architecture and corresponding performance; as well as describe our near term future plans.

© 2008 Optical Society of America