Stimulated radiative laser cooling

TL;DR

This paper proposes a stimulated radiative laser cooling method for solid-state lasers, converting thermal energy into optical energy via stimulated nonlinear processes to improve cooling efficiency and device applicability.

Contribution

It introduces an alternative optical cooling scheme based on stimulated processes, enhancing efficiency over spontaneous fluorescence methods.

Findings

Theoretical framework for stimulated laser cooling is developed.

Potential for higher cooling efficiencies in solid-state lasers.

Application prospects for high-power laser systems are discussed.

Abstract

Building a refrigerator based on the conversion of heat into optical energy is an ongoing engineering challenge. Under well-defined conditions, spontaneous anti-Stokes fluorescence of a dopant material in a host matrix is capable of lowering the host temperature. The fluorescence is conveying away a part of the thermal energy stored in the vibrational oscillations of the host lattice. In particular, applying this principle to the cooling of (solid-state) lasers opens up many potential device applications, especially in the domain of high-power lasers. In this paper, an alternative optical cooling scheme is outlined, leading to radiative cooling of solid-state lasers. It is based on converting the thermal energy stored in the host, into optical energy by means of a stimulated nonlinear process, rather than a spontaneous process. This should lead to better cooling efficiencies and a higher potential of applying the principle for device applications.