Diode pumped cryogenic Yb:Lu3Al5O12 laser in continuous-wave and pulsed regime

Abstract We report on diode pumped cryogenic Yb: Lu3Al5O12 (LuAG) laser in the continuous-wave and pulsed regime. Under given experimental condition, we determined an optimum crystal temperature of 140 K for efficient laser operation. A maximum output power of 10.46 W with slope efficiency values of 48.6 and 67% with respect to incident and absorbed power respectively were achieved for an output coupler transmission of 40%. Yb:LuAG laser performed significantly better at 140 K with an output power 16 times and slope efficiency 7 times better than the values at 240 K. Self-starting passively Q-switched Yb:LuAG lasers were also characterized using Cr:YAG saturable absorbers with three different initial transmissions. A maximum pulse energy of 0.215 mJ and a peak power of 1.46 kW were obtained corresponding to the shortest pulse duration of 148 ns.