It is well documented that increases in pump module power enables higher power DPSS or CW fiber lasers, but it is important to recognize that increasing the efficiency by which the DPSS or CW fiber laser is pumped drives down both system complexity and cost. Additionally due to the narrow absorption band of the common laser mediums like Ytterbium and Neodymium, it is advantageous to maximize the spectral overlap between the emission of the pump module and the absorption band of the host medium; one way to accomplish this is by the use of Volume Bragg Gratings (VBGs) to both narrow and stabilize (meaning to minimize change with current and/or temperature) the emission of the diode pump module. To this end, we report on the continued progress by nLIGHT to develop and deliver the highest efficiency wavelength-stabilized, diode-laser pumps using single-emitter technology at ~885nm for neodymium DPSS pumping, and 969/976 nm for ytterbium laser pumping. The basis for these improvements is the ensuring the epitaxial structure of the laser diode is optimized not only for efficiency and power but is also properly optimized to minimize the amount of spectral shift with current. Due to the proprietary nature of our epitaxial structures, we are unable to provide exact details. However, throughout this paper, we will abstractly discuss the improvements made to our epitaxy, and how those changes directly affect, and improve upon the module level performance with VBGs, and provide COS and module level results for our element® packages with VBGs to support these claims, with key examples being: at 969/976 nm a 2×6 module with 140 W into 105 μm – 0.16 beam NA, and a 969/976 nm 400 W 2×12 into 200 μm – 0.16 beam NA, along with 888 nm diode module, in a 2×12 layout outputting a maximum of 370 W with 52 % electro-optical efficiency when coupled into 200 μm – 0.18 beam NA
In this paper, we show results of further brightness improvement and power-scaling enabled by both the rise in chip brightness/power and the increase in number of chips coupled into a given numerical aperture. We report a new chip technology using new extra Reduced-mode (x-REM) diode design providing a record ~363 W output from a 2×12 nLIGHT element® in 105 μm diameter fiber. There is also an increasing demand for low size, weight and power-consumption (SWaP) fiber-coupled diodes for compact High Energy Laser (HEL) systems for defense and industrial applications. Using thirty single emitters that were geometricallyand polarization-combined, we have demonstrated 600 watts and 62% efficiency at in 225 μm/0.22 NA fiber resulting in specific mass and volume of 0.44 kg/kW and of 0.5 cm3/W respectively. Furthermore, we have increased the number of chips to forty and increased the output power to 1kW and 52% in the same fiber diameter and numerical aperture. This results in a fiber-coupled package with specific mass and volume of <0.18 kg/kW and <0.27 cm3/W, respectively.
Multi-kilowatt, continuous-wave fiber lasers continue to drive the need for higher power, higher brightness, and more efficient diode laser pump modules. It is well documented that increases in pump module power either enable higher power CW fiber lasers or minimize complexity of the multi-stage fiber combiners for a given power. Additionally, increasing pump module brightness positively impacts the SRS threshold of a given multi-kilowatt CW fiber lasers architecture. We report on the continued progress by nLIGHT to develop and deliver the highest brightness diode-laser pumps using single-emitter technology at 976 nm for Ytterbium fiber laser pumping. Building upon our prior developments that have enabled higher emitter counts in the element® packages, nLIGHT is releasing two new 976 nm module configurations: a 2×7 module with 155 W into 105 μm – 0.15 beam NA, and a 375 W 2×12 into 200 μm – 0.16 beam NA. Additionally, we have demonstrated high efficiency designs utilizing a new chip on submount (COS) architecture: with a 430 W 2×12 into 200 μm – 0.16 beam NA and 57% electro-optical efficiency, and an alternative 2×15 design resulting in 600 W at 57 % electro-optical efficiency at 23 A when coupled into 200 μm – 0.18 beam NA.
In this paper, we show results of further brightness improvement and power-scaling enabled by both the rise in chip brightness/power and the increase in number of chips coupled into a given numerical aperture. We report a new chip technology using x-REM design providing a record ~340 W output from a 2×12 nLIGHT element® in 105 μm diameter fiber. These diodes will allow next generation of fiber-coupled product capable of >250W output power from 105 μm/0.15 NA beam at 915 nm. There is also an increasing demand for low SWaP fiber-coupled diodes for enabling compact high energy laser systems for defense applications. We have demonstrated 600 watts and 60% efficiency at 15C in 220 μm/0.22 NA fiber resulting in specific mass and volume of 0.44 kg/kW and of 0.5 cm3/W respectively.
Terahertz detection using excitations of plasmon modes offers a high-speed, high resolution, and frequency-selective
alternative to existing technology. Plasmons in high mobility quantum well two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG)
systems can couple to radiation when either the channel carrier density, or the incident radiation, is spatially modulated
with appropriate periodicity. Grating-gated terahertz detectors having a voltage tunable frequency response have been
developed based on this principle. A continuous wave THz photomixer was used to characterize the resonant absorption
in such devices. At the fundamental 2DEG plasmon frequency, defined by the grating and the quantum well carrier
density, a 20% change in transmission was observed. As the resonance is tuned from the 'natural' plasmon frequency
through application of a gate bias, it shifts as expected, but the transmission change drops to only a few percent.
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