Abstract

Diode-pumped compact pulsed laser sources in the 1-μm spectral region are of particular interest for a number of applications. Yb-doped single crystals and ceramics exhibiting large emission cross section, low quantum defects and low thermal loads recently turned out to be very promising gain media for developing diode-pumped and highly efficient lasers both in continuous-wave and pulsed operation near 1 μm. To gain the compactness of laser systems, waveguide structures providing high intra-cavity pump intensity with reduced pump powers, excellent overlap of the pump and cavity modes and efficient heat removal have been widely investigated. In particular, channel waveguides can support spatially single-mode with Gaussian distribution in more efficient and stable operation due to enhanced light confinement in small volumes. Femtosecond-laser-inscribing technique is one of the well-known techniques for manufacturing channel waveguides inside gain materials. This relatively simple method allows us to directly write straight and curved shapes of channels without masks.

© 2015 IEEE