Diode-pumped, high-power, solid-state lasers

Abstract

Laser diodes may find an application as pump sources for high-power solid-state laser drivers in the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) reactor because of their high efficiency, good matching to absorption pump bands, and the lower amount of heat deposited in the lasant as compared to conventional flashlamp pumping. The potential of a diode-pumped high-power solid-state laser system for ICF reactor is described. The laser fusion reactor driver will require a few mJ output at the wavelength of 0.35 micrometers , a 10% overall efficiency, and a 10 Hz repetition frequency. Using a diode-pumped regenerative amplifier, it is shown that the diode-pumped solid-state laser system will have a sufficiently high efficiency (over 10%), a long lifetime (laser diodes have a lifetime of over three years at 10 Hz operation), and a high repetition frequency (over 10 Hz, owing to its small thermal load to laser materials). The most likely candidates for such laser materials of the system are Nd: phosphate-glass, Nd: silica- glass, Ho, Tm: YAG-crystal, and Tm: YAG-crystal. Technical items to be developed with the system are also discussed.