On Yb:CaF2 and Yb:SrF2 : Review of spectroscopic and thermal properties and their impact on femtosecond and high power laser performance

Frédéric Druon (1) , Sandrine Ricaud (1) , Dimitris N. Papadopoulos (2, 1) , Alain Pellegrina (1, 2) , Patrice Camy (3) , Jean-Louis Doualan (3) , Richard Moncorgé (3) , Antoine Courjaud (4) , Eric Mottay (4) , Patrick Georges (1)

1 Laboratoire Charles Fabry de l'Institut d'Optique / Elsa
2 ILE - Institut de la Lumiére Extrême
3 CIMAP - UMR 6252 - Centre de recherche sur les Ions, les MAtériaux et la Photonique
4 Amplitude Systèmes

We present an overview of laser results we obtained with Yb-doped calcium fluoride and its isotype strontium fluoride. In order to study the laser performance in femtosecond and high power regimes, spectral and thermal properties are first discussed including the potential of these crystals at room and cryogenic temperatures. Experimental demonstrations of high-power and ultrashort pulse oscillators and amplifiers are presented and analyzed.

Domains: Physics [physics]; Physics [physics]; Optics [physics.optics]

Frédéric Druon, Sandrine Ricaud, Dimitris N. Papadopoulos, Alain Pellegrina, Patrice Camy, et al.. On Yb:CaF2 and Yb:SrF2 : Review of spectroscopic and thermal properties and their impact on femtosecond and high power laser performance. Optical Materials Express, 2011, 1 (3), pp.489-502. ⟨hal-00658197⟩