Room temperature high-power TEM00 mode beam from bulk solid-state laser without water cooling

Abstract

Obtaining high power, high beam quality, and high efficiency laser sources has always been one of the important development goals in solid-state laser technology. However, up to now, hundred-watt TEM₀₀ mode (large-volume) beams directly from simple solid-state lasers without liquid cooling are not available. To overcome these challenges, here we propose a new approach based on the principle of low thermal effect and the power superposition method. By doing so, at room temperature, a 131 W TEM₀₀ mode is obtained from the simplest Nd:YAG laser. Importantly, the laser can work stably for a long time (root mean square: 0.307 % over 3 h), and the gain medium is cooled by a fan. This demonstration promises to upgrade high-power and high beam quality applications for solid-state laser sources.