An overview of a research program to screen material candidates for more durable windows that operate over a broad temperature and wavelength range is presented. The hardness, high melting points, and oxidation resistance of cubic oxides make them logical material choices to screen. Empirical and density functional theory modeling along with extensive datamining of literature and on-line databases are used to screen materials for window relevant properties. Promising materials are processed and characterized for optical transparency at room and high temperature by high-throughput methods to validate predicted properties. Potential window materials identified by these methods are presented and discussed.
Fluorite structure oxides include cubic-stabilized ZrO2, HfO2, ThO2, UO2, and some rare-earth compositions. Many rare-earth oxides also form cubic bixbyite (Ln2O3) structures. These materials are some of the most refractory oxides known. The optical and thermomechanical properties of fluorite structured oxides and rare-earth bixbyites are reviewed. Existing data on transmittance in the visible and infrared is summarized and compared with theoretical predictions from density functional theory and other physics-based models. Properties such as thermal conductivity, thermal expansion, melting point, modulus, hardness, refractive index, dielectric constant, thermochemical stability, and the trade-offs between these properties and optical properties are also discussed. New results for optical and thermomechanical properties for selected bixbyite and fluorite compositions will be presented, compared with existing data, and with model predictions.
Doped single-crystal YAG fibers used as single-mode lasers require claddings with precise refractive index and high thermal conductivity. Three cladding materials that use coextrusion of green cladding on fiber cores as an initial processing step are described: 1. Undoped YAG cladding, followed by sintering or hot isostatic pressing. 2. Ca3Ga2Ge3O12 garnet cladding that melts beneath 1400°C. 3. LiCa2Mg2As3xV3-3xO12 garnet cladding that melts beneath 1100°C. Microstructures are characterized by TEM. Equipment and procedures are described. Garnet refractive index models are developed and validated to predict cladding refractive index. Advantages and disadvantages of the different claddings are compared.
Rare-earth-doped fibers with single-crystal cores have the potential for 10x higher TMI threshold than their glass counterparts and are a promising candidate for use as gain media in high-power laser systems. Their utility has been limited by parasitic optical losses and difficulty in fabrication. This paper explores methods to reduce the losses in these fibers in the core, in the cladding and at the core-cladding interface. Fabrication methods are also discussed.
Hyunjun Kim, Randall Hay, Sean McDaniel, Gary Cook, Nicholas Usechak, Augustine Urbas, HeeDong Lee, Randall Corns, Kathleen Shugart, Ali Kadhim, Dean Brown, Benjamin Griffin
The superior thermal and optical properties of transparent polycrystalline ceramics make them attractive alternatives to glass-based materials for laser gain media. Fibers have other advantages of compactness, vibration-resistance, and reduced cooling requirements. Recently it was found that surface roughness caused by grain boundary grooving dominated optical scattering even though there were other scattering sources in the fiber. Therefore, a lot of effort went to fabrication of fibers with smooth surfaces. A mechanical polishing method for polycrystalline YAG fibers was developed. The fiber surface roughness was reduced, while maintaining a circular cross-section. Surface-polished 1.5% Ho-doped polycrystalline YAG fiber, 62 mm long with 31 μm diameter, was fabricated, and lasing was demonstrated from this fiber. Effects of surface-polishing on the surface roughness and scattering coefficient are presented, and lasing characteristics are discussed.
Polycrystalline YAG fibers are of interest for both optical and structural applications. Various processing routes of YAG
fibers for structural applications have been explored; however, processing routes for optical quality polycrystalline YAG
fiber have not been investigated intensively despite the potential of the material to enable high power lasers. Recent
results in the processing of YAG fiber for laser applications are presented and detailed relationship between processes,
microstructures, and optical properties of YAG fibers are discussed. Specifically, details of the processes for green fiber
preparation, sintering methods, and transparencies depending on the process variables are shown. Our recent
advancement in fiber processing prior to sintering has improved the transparency of YAG fiber significantly. Vacuum or
air sintering followed by Hot Isostatic Press (HIP) produced fibers with transparency comparable to that of single crystal
YAG fiber.
The effect of various parameters that limit the performance of fiber lasers are calculated for yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) as the fiber core. The optimum core diameter, the optimum fiber length, and the corresponding output power capability are determined for a variety of optical and structural parameters of YAG, based on available data in the literature to date. It is shown that a conservative limit for YAG fiber laser is 6 kW per fiber in multimode operation, compared to 1.8 kW for a silica-based fiber laser. Furthermore, it is shown that if stimulated brillouin scattering gain, a key limiting parameter, is <10−12 m/W in YAG, as a recent publication suggests, the maximum output power is 30 kW per fiber without a significant increase in fiber core diameter. Similar gains are predicted for single-mode operation, although with much lower output power limits. A parametric study shows the relative merits of improving on various optical parameters.
Traditional silica fibers currently are unlikely to be able to sustain the powers needed for future Air Force
applications. The low thermal conductivity of silica makes it difficult to control thermal gradients within the fibers
resulting in failure or degradation in beam quality. While some of these problems can be ameliorated by using
longer fibers, this results in problems with nonlinear effects such as stimulated Raman and Brillouin scattering (SRS
and SBS). Yttrium aluminum garnet (Y3Al5O12, YAG) has the potential for overcoming these problems due to 1)
higher thermal conductivity, 2) reduced thermal lensing, and 3) higher SBS threshold. Polycrystalline YAG has been
demonstrated to be a highly efficient and economical laser host material in slab form. Polycrystalline YAG can be
doped more uniformly and at higher levels than single-crystals with no dopant loss by zone refinement, has higher
fracture toughness than single-crystals, and supports higher power densities. Despite the anticipated advantages,
polycrystalline YAG has never been demonstrated in high-power fiber lasers. The development and characterization
of YAG fibers for high energy laser applications is the primary goal of our research. Recent results in the
processing of optical quality polycrystalline YAG fibers will be presented and discussed.
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