400 W average power Q-switched Yb:YAG thin-disk-laser

Abstract

Abstract We report on producing up to 403 W average power directly from an acousto-optically Q-switched Yb:YAG thin-disk laser (TDL). To achieve this power, it has theoretically and experimentally been shown that the laser stability border could be shifted toward higher repetition rates by engineering of the output coupler transmittance. This allows for stable operation of the laser at higher frequencies and a further increase in the power extraction from the active medium. Using an output coupler with 93% reflectivity, a maximum average power of 403 W at the repetition rate of 12.0 kHz has been recorded under the pump power of 1220 W. Furthermore, the maximum pulse energy of 57 mJ was produced at the repetition rate of 1.00 kHz and the pump power of 520 W. The characteristics of the laser at various Q-switching rates and the pump powers have been investigated. In addition, a numerical study for supporting the experimental results has been proposed here. To the best of our knowledge, the achieved average power and the pulse energy are the highest values reported to date from a Q-switched Yb:YAG TDL. The results pave the way to further power scaling of solid-state Q-switched oscillators.