The purpose of the conference is to highlight the recent progress in the field of optically pumped semiconductor thin disk lasers, such as vertical external cavity surface emitting lasers (VECSELs) and the more novel concepts such as MECSELs, MIXSELs, … . In optically pumped semiconductor thin disk lasers, the light is emitted perpendicular to the semiconductor gain media layers and the gain chip is placed in an external cavity. This offers mode control with excellent transverse beam quality and multi-Watt output power levels. The external cavity also enables the integration of elements for nonlinear intracavity frequency conversion, wavelength tuning, or passive modelocking.

Compared to external-cavity diode-pumped solid-state lasers, semiconductor lasers operate in much broader spectral regions owing to wavelengths versatility of semiconductor bandgap engineering. Direct continuous-wave (cw) emission from VECSELs has been demonstrated for the entire wavelength range covered by compound semiconductors, extending from blue to mid-IR. Moreover, efficient intra-cavity nonlinear frequency conversion allows to further broaden spectral coverage, reaching ultra-violet and terahertz emission, promoting VECSELs to a status of the most versatile laser type.

High-power cw VECSELs have been widely used in medicine, spectroscopy, or for pumping of solid-state lasers and new applications are emerging taking advantage of the unique features they offer. For example, owing to their low-noise properties, high-power, and single-frequency wavelength-tunable operation, cw VECSELs are increasingly used in quantum-technology applications, such as ion-trapping or quantum-sensing. Furthermore, ultrafast VECSELs and MIXSELs are opening new application opportunities in high-resolution spectroscopy, frequency metrology, and multiphoton microscopy.

A selection of invited papers will provide a comprehensive overview of the latest progress in this fast-developing field. In addition, contributed papers are solicited on all aspects of VECSEL related research, including:

novel architectures (MECSELs and MIXSELs)
numerical modeling
material engineering and wavelength tailoring
intracavity nonlinear frequency conversion
power scaling and novel thermal management
single frequency operation and stabilization
mode-locked operation
application specific designs
industrial developments.

Best Student Presentation Award
The committee is pleased to announce that a cash prize of $500, donated by Coherent, will be awarded for the best student presentation. Presentations will be judged by the committee based on scientific merit, impact, as well as clarity of the student presenter’s talk. While the manuscript will not be judged, it is expected.

To be eligible for consideration, the student must:

be a graduate or undergraduate full-time student
have conducted the majority of the work to be presented
be the submitting author and select “Yes” when asked if you are a full-time student
select yourself as the speaker
under TOPIC selection, choose “consider for Best Student Presentation Award”
be accepted to present an oral presentation
submit your manuscript online by the deadline
make the oral presentation.

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In progress – view active session

Conference LA106