A Development of Ceramic YAG Fibers for High Power Laser Applications

In this Phase I work, UES will advance its current patented technology towards a novel ceramic process to produce high quality polycrystalline YAG fibers that meet the required properties for high power fiber laser applications. We show that YAG is far superior to silica as a material choice for fiber lasers, using a computational evaluation. UES has, over the past 5 years, developed a patented technology to produce ultrapure, 100% stoichiometric YAG nanopowders that are easy to sinter, and UES is now a domestic supplier of laser quality YAG powder. UES has also developed a robust consolidation process (sinter-HIP process) that produces laser quality dense products with a fine grain size designed for high strength. UES is very confident that this advanced ceramic processing technology can be further developed for fiber production; fiber forming by contaminant-free extrusion and fiber cladding by a slurry process are the proposed approaches. The fibers thus fabricated will be evaluated for laser-host applications and UES will demonstrate a successful technology of advanced fiber lasers significantly superior to silica based fiber lasers. In summary, UES will develop an innovative fiber production process for ceramic YAG fibers by utilizing UES’s patented advanced ceramic processes, including the production of ultra-pure Yb-doped YAG powders.