Solid State Laser Technology

This course provides an overview of the design, performance characteristics and the current state of the art of solid state lasers and devices. The course reviews the laser-relevant properties of key solid state materials, and discusses the design principles for flashlamp pumped and diode-pumped solid state lasers in cw, pulsed, Q-switched and modelocked operation. Solid state media emphasized include Nd and Yb-doped crystals but mid-IR materials such as Tm, Ho and Er-doped fluorides and oxides will be addressed as well. The course will cover the fundamental scaling laws for power, energy and beam quality for various geometries of the gain medium (rod, slab, disk, waveguide) and pumping arrangements (side and end-pumped) and provides an overview of the state-of-the art of solid state lasers. This includes a review of the design and performance of fiber lasers/amplifiers and their comparison to bulk solid state lasers. An overview of the state-of the art of optically pumped semiconductor lasers (OPSL) will also be given.

Important technical advances (such as diode pump developments) that allowed the technology to mature into diverse industrial and biomedical OEM devices as well as high power and scientific applications will be highlighted along with some remaining design and performance challenges. Topics also include nonlinear frequency conversion techniques, such as harmonic generation, Raman scattering and parametric processes, commonly used in solid state lasers to extend operation to alternative spectral regimes. The course includes an overview of currently available solid state laser products and their industrial and scientific applications.