Maglev rotating disk laser

We propose and demonstrate a laser-diode-pumped, maglev rotating Nd:YAG disk laser. The disk of the laser crystal is attached to a maglev pyrolytic graphite disk and is rotated by compressed gas. In this rotating disk laser, the detrimental thermal effects are alleviated and the laser can be operated in the single transverse electromagnetic (TEM)00 mode with high brightness. In our proof-of-concept experiment, we achieve a 17.7 mW laser output at 447 mW of absorbed pump power and a ～4 Hz rotation frequency.