Advanced Disk Lasers: A New Horizon in Solid-State and Semiconductor Laser Design

激光可以成为一把科学和工业用的小刀。从研究最短的事件，到最快的飞机的精密加工，它已经出类拔萃了。然而，潜力还更大。现有的系统具有革命性的生物成像技术，能够对污染物进行高灵敏度的检测，但它们往往由于体积大、效率低和脆弱而被锁在实验室里。高功率激光器的高性能需要有效地散热。与传统的几何结构不同，使用激光材料的薄盘可以实现激进的冷却，从而以非凡的效率产生高功率。然而，这些激光器体积很大。他们还使用掺杂晶体作为产生激光的材料：将操作限制在有限的颜色范围内。如果使用半导体，激光材料可以生长出微观的层状结构--允许在任何地方指定颜色，从紫外线到可见光再到中红外。然而，在一束好的激光中产生高功率是困难的。如果使用与薄片激光器非常相似的几何结构，这个问题就可以巧妙地绕过。该项目旨在利用这些协同效应，使掺杂晶体和半导体固体激光器都受益。最近出现了新的材料--最引人注目的是更便宜的高质量钻石--它们有可能保持系统的冷却，从而产生更高的功率。同时，这些热传输材料可以帮助设计出更紧凑、更坚固的激光器。通过在产生激光的材料上涂上镜面涂层，可以制造出一体式激光器。它们更好地适应了移动操作的振动和冲击。该项目的另一个主要目标是了解这些系统中的热管理，以实现高功率、更强大的激光。铅笔刀适应性强；铅笔刀坚固；铅笔刀紧凑。先进的圆盘激光概念有可能成为激光设计师的铅笔刀。

The laser can become a scientific and industrial penknife. From studying the shortest of events, to precision machining for the fastest of aircraft, it already excels. Yet the potential is greater still. Systems exist with the performance to revolutionise biological imaging, to enable highly sensitive detection of pollutants, but they are often locked in the lab by their bulk, inefficiency and fragility. High performance from a high-power laser requires the efficient removal of heat. In contrast to conventional geometries, using a thin disk of laser material enables aggressive cooling and hence the generation of high powers with extraordinary efficiency. Yet these lasers are bulky. They also use a doped crystal as the material in which to generate the laser light: restricting operation to a limited range of colours. If semiconductors are used, the laser material can be grown with a microscopic layer structure - allowing the colour to be specified anywhere from the ultraviolet through the visible to the mid-infrared. However, generating high power in a good laser beam - a 'pencil of light' - is difficult. If a geometry very similar to a thin-disk laser is used, this problem can be neatly circumvented. This project aims to exploit these synergies to the benefit of both doped-crystalline and semiconductor solid-state lasers. New materials have recently become available - most notably cheaper high-quality diamond - that have the potential to keep systems cool and thus enable the generation of higher powers. Simultaneously, these heat transporting materials can contribute to the design of lasers that are more compact and robust. By applying mirror coatings to the material that generates the laser light, a one-piece laser can be built. These are much better adapted to the vibration and shock of mobile operation. Another major objective of this project is to understand thermal management in these systems to enable high-power, yet more robust, lasers. The penknife is adaptable; the penknife is robust; the penknife is compact. The Advanced Disk Laser concept has the potential to be the laser designer's penknife.