Efficient composite Tm/Ho:YLF laser

We demonstrate a composite Tm/Ho:YLF laser for the first time via the integration of Tm-doped and Ho-doped YLF crystals into a single bulk gain medium. Considering the incident pump power at 792 nm, maximum output power of 10.2 W at 2063 nm with power instability of 0.55% was obtained, corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of 25.5% and slope efficiency of 29.6 %. Thermal stability of the Ho laser with a decrement in the output power of 30 mW/°C was shown by varying the cooling temperature from 10 °C to 28 °C. This work provides a compact, accessible, and efficient Ho laser to directly use the existing diode lasers (LDs).