Abstract

Scaling of laser power and brightness to meet the needs of ever-demanding applications is an activity which continues to preoccupy many within the laser community. In this tutorial, I will review recent progress in the development of power scaling strategies for crystal and fiber lasers, and will discuss their relative merits. In addition, I will also describe some alternative approaches for power scaling which combine the advantages of fiber and bulk lasers in the form of a hybrid laser.

© 2003 Optical Society of America