Creation of Composite Optical Elements by the Ion-Beam Surface-Activation Method for Laser Applications
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on of Composite Optical Elements by the Ion-Beam Surface-Activation Method for Laser Applications I. I. Kuznetsova, *, I. B. Mukhina, M. R. Volkova, O. V. Palashova, A. E. Pestovb, M. V. Zorinab, N. I. Chkhalob, and M. S. Mikhailenkob aInstitute
of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhny Novgorod, 603950 Russia Institute for Physics of Microstructures, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhny Novgorod, 603087 Russia *e-mail: [email protected]
b
Received March 30, 2020; revised April 24, 2020; accepted April 28, 2020
Abstract–A method for creating composite active elements from dissimilar optical materials, which consists in treating surfaces with a beam of heavy argon ions and forming an optical contact between the surfaces, is implemented and tested. Composite active elements Yb:YAG/YAG and Yb:YAG/sapphire in the geometry of a thin disk are created. The elements are tested in a high-average-power laser scheme. Lasing with a differential efficiency of 48% at at a power of more than 100 W is obtained using the Yb:YAG/sapphire element, while the lasing efficiency for the Yb:YAG/YAG element is 39%, which is a consequence of more efficient cooling of the active medium through sapphire. Keywords: high-average-power laser, disk Yb:YAG laser, composite active elements, roughness, ion-beam etching DOI: 10.1134/S1027451020050316
INTRODUCTION Today femtosecond lasers of extremely high peak power (more than 1 TW) are actively used in research laboratories around the world to effectively accelerate charged particles and generate bright coherent X-ray and terahertz radiation [1, 2]. These technologies will find many applications in industry, medicine, and other fields. For example, as sources of coherent X-ray radiation for lithography, or as sources of protons for hadron radiation therapy, etc. However, their widespread implementation requires lasers, which, in addition to extremely high peak power, have a high timeaverage power, i.e., are characterized by a high pulse repetition rate. One way to achieve this is the use of solid-state lasers based on media doped with Yb3+ ions with diode pumping [3]. These media have a small quantum defect, which leads to a decrease in their thermal load and an increase in the efficiency of the system. The key problem of simultaneously achieving a high average power and high energy is choosing the geometry of the active element, which must simultaneously provide effective cooling of the medium (i.e., the element must be small in size, at least along one coordinate) and the efficient storage and extraction of energy. Three groups can be distinguished that are used in high-average-power lasers: a thin rod (diameter less than 1 mm) [4], a thin slab (a flat crystal in the shape of a parallelepiped with a thickness of less than 1 mm) [5], and a thin disk (thickness of less than
0.5 mm and diameter of more than 10 mm) [3]. All geometric shapes have certain disadvantages, which today do not allow the required output parameters to be achieved. In a thin rod and thin slab, the aperture is
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