High-energy diode-pumped D sub(2)O-cooled multislab Yb:YAG and Yb:QX-glass lasers

We investigated the lasing performance of a multislab Yb:QX and Yb:YAG laser amplifiers using a facet-cooled design. Di-deuterium oxide (D sub(2)O) was used as the coolant flowing between the active slabs with the pump and laser light passing through the very low absorbing heavy-water films. A square pump profile at a maximum intensity of 40 kW/cm super(2) drove the amplifier with a peak fluence of 5.5 J/cm super(2) and a pulse duration of 6 ns. We demonstrated a maximum pulse energy of 1 J for each gain medium as well as a repetition rate of 10 Hz for Yb:YAG and 1 Hz for Yb:QX glass, thus showing the feasibility and scalability of directly water-cooled, diode-pumped, high-energy short-pulse lasers.