Diode pumped alkali lasers (DPALs): an overview

Abstract

The concept of power-scalable, high beam-quality diode pumped alkali lasers was introduced in 2003 [Krupke, US Patent No. 6,643,311; Opt. Letters, 28, 2336 (2003)]. Since then several laboratory DPAL devices have been reported on, confirming many of the spectroscopic, kinetic, and laser characteristics projected from literature data. This talk will present an overview of the DPAL concept, summarize key relevant properties of the cesium, rubidium, and potassium alkali vapor gain media so-far examined, outline power scaling considerations, and highlight results of published DPAL laboratory experiments.