Efficient laser action of Yb:LSO and Yb:YSO oxyorthosilicates crystals under high-power diode-pumping

Mathieu Jacquemet (1) , Cyrille Jacquemet (1) , N. Janel (1) , Frédéric Druon (1) , François Balembois (1) , Patrick Georges (1) , J. Petit (2) , Bruno Viana (2) , D. Vivien (2) , Bernard Ferrand (3)

1 Laboratoire Charles Fabry de l'Institut d'Optique / Elsa
2 LCAES - Laboratoire de Chimie Appliquée de l'État Solide
3 CEA-LETI - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives - Laboratoire d'Electronique et de Technologie de l'Information

We report here on the efficient laser action of a new Yb-doped crystal Yb3+:Lu2SiO5 (Yb:LSO) under high power diode-pumping (15 W). Its performances were compared to another Yb-doped crystal belonging to the oxyorthosilicate family: the Yb:YSO. For both crystals, more than 7 W of laser radiation around 1 μm was obtained under 14.4 W of incident pump power at 978 nm, leading to high optical conversions of more than 50%. Finally, both crystals demonstrate little sensitivity to pump wavelength drift and exhibit broad tunability at a multiwatt level (more than 4 W over 50 nm and 60 nm, respectively for Yb:LSO and Yb:YSO).

Domains: Optics [physics.optics]

Mathieu Jacquemet, Cyrille Jacquemet, N. Janel, Frédéric Druon, François Balembois, et al.. Efficient laser action of Yb:LSO and Yb:YSO oxyorthosilicates crystals under high-power diode-pumping. Applied Physics B - Laser and Optics, 2005, 80 (2), pp.171-176. ⟨10.1007/s00340-004-1698-9⟩. ⟨hal-00709959⟩