Background absorption has been studied for an YLF:10%Yb3+ crystal at different intensities at room temperature. The cooling efficiency was measured by both the DLT (Differential Luminescence Thermometry) and TLS (Thermal Lens Spectroscopy) methods. Results show that background and coolant absorption saturate differently at room temperature. A cw Ti:sapphire pump beam was tuned from 920 nm to 1040 nm with an intensity range from 100 W/cm2 to 20,000 W/cm2. Changes of temperature and thermal strength were measured by DLT and TLS methods, respectively. The cooling efficiencies with these approaches at different wavelengths were then compared based on theoretical fits to the experimental results. The cooling efficiency at 1000 nm was found to be independent of pump intensity. There, the saturation of intensity of background absorption had the same value as that of Ytterbium. The cooling efficiency below 1000 nm dropped at elevated intensity. In this range, Ytterbium absorption saturated easily, reducing the cooling ion absorption, while the absorption of background impurities did not saturate as much as Ytterbium. Consequently the cooling efficiency was lowered. For wavelengths above 1000 nm, increases in the pump intensity led to improved cooling efficiency. In this range, background absorption saturated more easily than absorption of coolant ions and parasitic heating was reduced, leading to higher cooling efficiency. Thus we have devised a method of measuring differential absorption saturation and determined its effect on laser cooling at room temperature. Saturation effects of this kind have important consequences in the heat equation for radiation-balanced lasers.
A 3-D thermal model applicable to arbitrary sample geometries was developed in COMSOL to analyze laser cooling of 1% Yb3+:KYW crystals. The model includes the effects of thermal conduction, black-body radiation, and background impurities. The simulation results showed that the largest limitation to cooling was the thermal conduction between the crystal and its glass capillary tube supports. Although glass has a low thermal conductivity, it absorbs a significant amount of heat through black body radiation because of its high emissivity (~0.9). The absorbed heat is transferred to the crystal sample through the thermal contact, causing an observable dip in the curve of temperature versus time thereby reducing the net, steady-state cooling power. This limitation was overcome using silicon aerogel, whose conductivity and emissivity are 3 orders and 1 order smaller than glass, respectively. The aerogel maintains the temperature gradient and the heat transported to the crystal is negligible, resulting in a much lower minimum achievable temperature and removing the dip in the temperature evolution curve. By changing the sample support from glass to aerogel, the minimum achievable temperature under ambient conditions was lowered from 0.2 K to 1.5 K in a 1% Yb:KYW crystal with 1W pump at 1023 nm. These results, together with analysis of radiation balance in a 10 mm long crystal of 1% Yb:KYW, were used for a preliminary investigation of self-cooled lasing in this tungstate host.
We explore candidate materials for solid-state laser cooling on electric-dipole allowed transitions that could accelerate refrigeration. We analyze the required external quantum efficiencies and tolerable impurity absorption required to achieve net cooling, and examine limitations imposed by charge transfer and excited state absorption in Yb2+:SrF2, Ce3+:LiCAF and Ti3+:Al2O3.
We report the first observation of laser cooling in 1%Yb3+:KYW and discuss factors that limit the cooling efficiency. Cooling by 10 K from room temperature at atmospheric pressure was achieved in this crystal at a wavelength of 1025 nm using 8 W from a seeded fiber amplifier. The temperature of the sample was measured using a calibrated differential luminescence thermometry method and was verified with a thermal camera. Infrared imagery and 3-D modeling were used to analyze the impact of thermal conduction, thermal convection, black-body radiation, and background impurities. The simulated results agree with experimental measurements confirming that the chief limitation of laser cooling at room temperature and atmospheric pressure is thermal conduction from sample supports. Best results were obtained for samples mounted on silica aerogel. Theoretical improvement of cooling efficiency in vacuum by exploiting impurity absorption saturation is also discussed.
Rare-earth doped single crystal (SC) yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) fibers have great potential as high-power laser gain media. SC fibers combine the superior material properties of crystals with the advantages of a fiber geometry. Improving processing techniques, growth of low-loss YAG SC fibers have been reported. A low-cost technique that allows for the growth of optical quality Ho:YAG single crystal (SC) fibers with different dopant concentrations have been developed and discussed. This technique is a low-cost sol-gel based method which offers greater flexibility in terms of dopant concentration. Self-segregation of Nd ions in YAG SC fibers have been observed. Such a phenomenon can be utilized to fabricate monolithic SC fibers with graded index.
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