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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/L97209/01
Title: DIO-PUMPED SELF-GRATING LASERS
Principal Investigator: Eason, Professor RW
Other Investigators:
Shepherd, Professor DP Tropper, Professor A
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Onyx Optics INC (USA)
Department: Sch of Physics and Astronomy
Organisation: University of Southampton
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 09 March 1998 Ends: 08 March 2000 Value (£): 129,697
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Optical Devices & Subsystems
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Electronics
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
High power semiconductor diode arrays (>20W) are severely limited industrial applications by their poor spatial coherence and are therefore often used for optical pumping of solid-state lasers in which the resonator is designed to maintain a high-quality mode. We propose a novel approach, which combines expertise at Southampton in diode-pumped waveguide laser systems with the self-adaptive techniques pioneered at Imperial College by Dr Damzen. A solid-state planar waveguide amplifier will be developed with efficient diode side-pumping into the waveguide due to the compatible high-aspect ratio of both waveguide and emitter dimensions. The confinement of the pump light leads to considerably higher amplifier gains compared to bulk pumping, with continuous-wave gains in excess of 28dB having been demonstrated at Southampton in planar garnet waveguides. These high gains open the prospect of using gain saturation gratings to establish a self-organised holographic gain grating resonator for high-quality spatial and spectral cavity mode capability by correction of thermal effects, multimodal waveguide unscrambling and mode control of large in-plane guide dimension. Our aim in this way will be to demonstrate a high power solid state source with a diffraction-limited, single-longitudinal mode output beam.
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Organisation Website: http://www.soton.ac.uk