63 W wing-pumped Tm:YAG single-crystal fiber laser

Abstract

We present a high-power continuous-wave (CW) Tm:YAG single-crystal fiber (SCF) laser wing-pumped by laser diodes at 791 nm. A maximum output power of 63.3 W is achieved at ∼ 2.01 µm, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 34.2%. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest power obtained from the SCF laser in the 2 µm spectral range. In addition to the wing pumping scheme, the large surface-to-volume ratio of such fiber-geometry crystalline rod with diffusion-bonded undoped YAG end caps are benefited for the spatial uniform distribution of pump intensity and thermal load, and thus improving the power scalability.