Continuous-wave laser performance of non-aqueous tape casting fabricated Yb:YAG ceramics

We report on the continuous-wave and tunable laser operation of a transparent Yb:YAG ceramic which is prepared by non-aqueous tape casting method with vacuum sintering at 1750 °C for 10 h. The Yb:YAG ceramic is dense and with excellent optical in-line transmittance characteristics. In the lasing experiment, the Yb:YAG is end-pumped by a high-brightness 974 nm diode pump in fiber core of 50 μm and numerical aperture of 0.22, which results in a maximum output power of 7.01 W and a slope efficiency of 60.2% at 1050 nm. A smooth tunable curve from 1022 nm to 1058 nm is achieved in tunable laser testing, revealing the broadband lasing spectra over 30 nm.