Edge-pumped Composites for Ultra-Short Pulse (USP) Lasers

The goal of this Phase I effort is to design an edge pumped laser gain medium with uniform transverse pump absorption based on Yb:KLW/KLW composite structures. The design will be optimized for operation in an ultrashort pulse laser configuration with kW average output levels with particular emphasis on maintaining near diffraction limited beam quality. This goal will be realized by completing a njumber of technical objectives: 1. Determine range of dopant concentrations and dimensions to be investigated in Phase II to fulfill the operational requirements provided by ARDEC; 2. Demonstrate successful crystal growth of KLW and Yb:KLW that can be scaled up to meet the requirement for successful construction of Yb:KLW/KLW composites; 3. Use undoped substrates from early growth runs to demonstrate epitaxial growth of low concentration Yb:KLW on KLW substrates; 4. Use doped and undoped crystals from early growth runs to investigate the potential of optical contacting and diffusion bonding to construct composite gain media; 5. Establish the best test bed environment for Phase II demonstration of composite structure performance consistent with the goals of ARDEC.