Temperature Dependence of a Diode-pumped Cryogenic Erbium (Er):Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG) Laser

Abstract

We report the laser performance of resonantly diode-pumped erbium (Er):yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) from liquid nitrogen temperature to above room temperature. Relative to incident pump power, the best performance was observed at approximately 160 K. Spectroscopy and modeling show that this is due primarily to the changing efficiency of diode pump absorption as the absorption lines broaden with temperature. However, the physics of the Er:YAG system indicates that even with an arbitrarily narrow pump linewidth the most efficient laser performance should occur at a temperature somewhat above 77 K. The causes of the temperature dependence are at least qualitatively understood.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA502448

Entities

People

  • Arockiasamy Michael
  • G. Alex Newburgh
  • Larry D. Merkle
  • Mark Dubinskii
  • Nikolay Ter-gabrielyan

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Absorption
  • Absorption Spectra
  • Emission Spectra
  • Energy Levels
  • Frequency Combs
  • Gallium Arsenides
  • Ground State
  • Laser Applications
  • Laser Diodes
  • Laser Mediums
  • Lasers
  • Light (Electromagnetic Radiation)
  • Low Temperature
  • Solid State Lasers
  • Spectroscopy
  • Yag Lasers
  • Yttrium Aluminum Garnet

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Thermal Physics or Thermal Science.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Directed Energy - Lasers