Abstract

New solid-state laser media will improve the efficiency, average power, and beam quality of laser systems. Recently gadolinium scandium gallium garnet (GSGG) crystals have produced the highest efficiency laser operation reported for a rod laser.¹ For high-average-power systems employing the zigzag configuration or the gas-cooled disk configuration, GSGG will be useful for small-aperture systems, in large-aperture systems, new silicophosphate glasses developed by Hoya Optics and by Schott Glass Technologies have advantages over the presently used LHG-5 phosphate glass. Future lasers for fusion research, which will have mega-joule pulse energies, will require an inexpensive phosphate glass with improved thermomechanical characteristics. In the long run laser drivers for inertial confinement fusion reactors will need an efficient low-nonlinear-index crystalline laser medium; fluoride crystals are prime candidates.

© 1985 Optical Society of America