Abstract

Diode-pumped solid-state lasers continue to make advances in terms of average and peak power, efficiency and reliability. The most recent advances have been made in the average power capabilities of diode pump arrays which in turn allows the output power of diode-pumped lasers to be scaled in an economically advantageous way. As an example, quasi-cw pulsed arrays have now been operated at duty cycles up to 40% with peak powers of over 50 W per one-cm diode bar. Bars can be stacked at densities of ≈10/cm to produce average pump fluxes of over 200 W/cm². With these advances, it becomes the task of solid-state laser designers to use this power effectively for the development of high-brightness diode-pumped lasers.

© 1993 Optical Society of America