Abstract

Thin disk lasers are ideally suited for high-power laser applications both in continuous-wave (cw) and pulsed operation. Several kilowatts of cw output power and femtoscond pulses with energies of more than 10 μJ have been achieved with Yb:YAG [1-3], which is the current standard material used in nearly all thin disk lasers. Since several years, new Yb-doped thin disk gain materials are developed, which target higher efficiency and shorter pulse durations. Yb:Lu₂O₃ is a very promising material, as its thermal conductivity remains high even for high Yb-doping concentrations. Furthermore, it has a lower quantum defect and larger emission bandwidth. Over 30 W of output power at more than 80% slope efficiency and 72% optical-to-optical efficiency have already been reported with this material [4]. Initial SESAM mode-locking experiments resulted in an average output power of 24 W and a minimal pulse duration of 370 fs [5], which is significantly shorter than the typical >700 fs achieved with Yb:YAG thin disk lasers.

© 2009 IEEE