Abstract

There is a growing appreciation of the possibilities for high-gain amplification in solid-state laser materials pumped by high-average-power diode lasers. So far the emphasis has been on bulk materials, however planar waveguides offer significant benefits. Their geometry is compatible with that of the diode laser and the confinement allows much smaller pumped volumes and hence higher gain for a given pump power. For example, with the waveguide we have used the pumped volume is ~one order of magnitude smaller than could be achieved in a bulk medium of the same length.

© 1996 Optical Society of America