New class of cw high-power diode-pumped alkali lasers (DPALs) (Plenary Paper)

William F. Krupke; Raymond J. Beach; Vernon K. Kanz; Stephen A. Payne; James T. Early

doi:10.1117/12.547954

20 September 2004 New class of cw high-power diode-pumped alkali lasers (DPALs) (Plenary Paper)

William F. Krupke, Raymond J. Beach, Vernon K. Kanz, Stephen A. Payne, James T. Early

Proceedings Volume 5448, High-Power Laser Ablation V; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.547954
Event: High-Power Laser Ablation, 2004, Taos, New Mexico, United States

Abstract

The new class of diode-pumped alkali vapor lasers (DPALs) offers high efficiency cw laser radiation at near-infrared wavelengths: cesium 895 nm, rubidium 795 nm, and potassium 770 nm. The working physical principles of DPALs will be presented. Initial 795 nm Rb and 895 nm Cs laser experiments performed using a titanium sapphire laser as a surrogate pump source demonstrated DPAL slope power conversion efficiencies in the 50-70% range, in excellent agreement with device models utilizing only literature spectroscopic and kinetic data. Using these benchmarked models for Rb and Cs, optimized DPALs with optical-optical efficiencies >60%, and electrical efficiencies of 25-30% are projected. DPAL device architectures for near-diffraction-limited power scaling into the high kilowatt power regime from a single aperture will be described. DPAL wavelengths of operation offer ideal matches to silicon and gallium arsenide based photovoltaic power conversion cells for efficient power beaming.

Citation Download Citation

William F. Krupke, Raymond J. Beach, Vernon K. Kanz, Stephen A. Payne, and James T. Early "New class of cw high-power diode-pumped alkali lasers (DPALs) (Plenary Paper)", Proc. SPIE 5448, High-Power Laser Ablation V, (20 September 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.547954

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