Open AccessAnalysis of a thermal lens in a diamond Raman laser operating at 1.1 kW output power
Author(s) -
Sergei Antipov,
Robert J. Williams,
Alexander Sabella,
Ondřej Kitzler,
Amanuel M. Berhane,
David J. Spence,
Richard P. Mildren
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.388794
Subject(s) - optics , lens (geology) , laser beam quality , materials science , laser , beam divergence , diamond , laser power scaling , output coupler , beam (structure) , thermal , physics , laser beams , meteorology , composite material
We report experimental observations of thermal lens effects in a diamond Raman laser operating up to 1.1 kW output power in a quasi- steady-state regime. Measured changes in the output beam parameters as a function of output power, including beam quality factor and beam divergence after a fixed focusing lens, are compared to modelling enabling us to track the development of a thermal lens up to 16 diopters at maximum output power. Analysis shows that good agreement between model and experiment is obtained by considering the power deposition profile and the spatial overlap with the laser mode. The results clarify previous work that raised questions about thermal lens effects in the diamond gain medium and provides increased confidence in thermal models for determining the power limits for the current design.