High Power Ceramic Disk Lasers with Gradient Doping Made by Direct Ink Writing
The development of high-power laser systems challenges the very limits of the laser materials themselves. The high power creates great thermal stresses that can lead to effects such as birefringence, thermal lensing or even physical fracture damage to the host itself. These issues can be mitigated by use of fibers and thin disk lasers, which enable more effective cooling and smaller temperature gradients. In Phase I of the effort proposed herein, we have followed a more fundamental approach, to modify the laser ceramic material itself so as to endow it with properties that exceed those conventionally used today. One innovation in this proposed effort is to produce ceramic-based Yb-activated YAG (Y2Al5O12) disks with a radial gradient of dopant concentration. We are investigating two approaches to accomplish this: additive manufacturing or fabricating a composite structure. In Phase I we examined the Direct Ink Write (DIW) process, gel casting, die pressed composites and Material Jetting (MJ). These techniques make possible the construction of a side-pumped, back-cooled solid state high power thin-disk laser for accelerator applications. These approaches can be achieved using traditional ceramic processing methods, which can produce composite structures and doping profiles not achievable in single crystals.
- Research Organization:
- Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc., Watertown, MA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0018722
- OSTI ID:
- 1513243
- Type / Phase:
- SBIR (Phase I)
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-RMDI-0018722; C19-05
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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