Cryogenic cooling system Brayton with new configuration for 10J/10Hz Yb:YAG multi-slab based laser system at eli-beamlines project.

We present design and operational prototype of cryogenic cooling system based on Brayton’s cycle for 10J/10Hz Yb:YAG multi-slab laser system at ELI-Beamlines project. For efficient high energy Yb:YAG laser operation the laser crystals are required to be cooled at cryogenic temperatures due to the material’s excellent thermo-optic and spectroscopic properties at these temperatures. In our case, the laser was designed for operation at 150 K with heat load of 300 W to be removed from the laser crystals. At this temperature, the cooling system was capable of dynamically removing the waste heat arising in the Yb:YAG active medium as a result of optical pumping, while keeping the temperature stability within +/- 0.1 K.