Abstract
Researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed a low-cost, non-toxic cladding material that suppresses the unwanted effects of transverse and parasitic oscillations that occur with high-powered lasers. The new cladding resolves the key performance issues associated with solid-state, single-crystal and ceramic laser amplifiers of such lasers.
Technical Details
The invention comprises a cladding material and methods for forming the cladding and using it to suppress transverse oscillations in solid-state, single-crystal or ceramic laser amplifiers. The cladding material is the same as the core (amplifier) material; for example, if the core is sapphire, then the cladding could be alumina-doped sapphire. In another example, the cladding material could be a polycrystalline form of the core material. Additionally, the cladding material includes a broadband absorber material such as alumina, graphene, a rare earth ion, a transitional metal ion or a p-block element. Thus, by matching the cladding material with the core material and then doping the cladding with a broadband absorber, its refractive index matches the core's index for all wavelengths and can suppress transverse oscillations across broad bandwidths.
Benefit
Avoids thermal expansion mismatching at the core-cladding interfaceProvides uniform broadband absorption across the visible and near-IR spectrumMarket Application
High-energy or high-power solid-state, single-crystal laser systemsMedical devicesMilitary defense
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