Optimized SESAMs for kilowatt-level ultrafast lasers
- Author(s)
- Andreas Diebold, Thomas Zengerle, Cesare G. E. Alfieri, Cinia Schriber, Florian Emaury, M. Mangold, Maximilian Hoffmann, Clara Jody Saraceno, Matthias Golling, David Follman, Garrett D. Cole, M. Aspelmeyer, Thomas Sudmeyer, Ursula Keller
- Abstract
We present a thorough investigation of surface deformation and thermal properties of high-damage threshold large-area semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs) designed for kilowatt average power laser oscillators. We compare temperature rise, thermal lensing, and surface deformation of standard SESAM samples and substrate-removed SESAMs contacted using different techniques. We demonstrate that for all cases the thermal effects scale linearly with the absorbed power, but the contacting technique critically affects the strength of the temperature rise and the thermal lens of the SESAMs (i.e. the slope of the linear change). Our best SESAMs are fabricated using a novel substrate-transfer direct bonding technique and show excellent surface flatness (with non-measureable radii of curvature (ROC), compared to astigmatic ROCs of up to 10 m for standard SESAMs), order-of-magnitude improved heat removal, and negligible deformation with absorbed power. This is achieved without altering the saturation behavior or the recovery parameters of the samples. These SESAMs will be a key enabling component for the next generation of kilowatt-level ultrafast oscillators.
- Organisation(s)
- Quantum Optics, Quantum Nanophysics and Quantum Information
- External organisation(s)
- Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Université de Neuchâtel, Thorlabs Inc., Crystalline Mirror Solutions GmbH
- Journal
- Optics Express
- Volume
- 24
- Pages
- 10512-10526
- No. of pages
- 15
- ISSN
- 1094-4087
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.24.010512
- Publication date
- 05-2016
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103016 Laser physics, 103021 Optics
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/2060a2a9-d95f-4a65-a047-257a0a32fd2c