Power scalability as a precise concept for the evaluation of laser architectures

TL;DR

This paper defines power scalability for lasers as a precise concept, providing a framework to evaluate and compare laser architectures' potential for higher power output and identifying key technological factors affecting scalability.

Contribution

It introduces a formal power scaling procedure for lasers, offering a new method to assess and compare the future performance potential of different laser architectures.

Findings

Thermal lensing in thin disk lasers has benign scaling properties.

Some technological aspects become critical at high power levels.

The concept aids in identifying necessary modifications for higher power generation.

Abstract

This paper establishes power scaling of lasers as a clearly defined concept, based on a power scaling procedure which must satisfy various criteria. It is demonstrated that this concept creates useful insight particularly for the evaluation of the future performance potential of different laser architectures, and for identifying technological aspects which will need to be modified for generating higher powers. It turns out that some aspects (such as e.g. thermal lensing in thin disk lasers) can have rather benign scaling properties, not causing problems even at very high power levels, while other aspects can become essential even if they initially may have appeared to be insignificant.