Hydrothermal Crystal Growth that Eliminates Spontaneous Emission

Market Overview

This hydrothermal approach to growing single crystal oxide hosts resolves the issues posed by amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). ASE is the result of unwanted internal reflection of photons at the lasing frequency within the laser crystal. The consequences of ASE include induced emission of ions from the excited state and unwanted internal lasing in random directions. These effects take away the needed amount of power from the laser and severely inhibit the performance of the lasers. From an economic standpoint, the global market for solid state lasers is projected to steadily increase, reaching $850 million by 2020. This steady growth is primarily due to the demand for lasers with operational thresholds that can be reached at relatively low intensities of laser pumping. Clemson University researchers have developed a hydrothermal crystal growth process that minimizes ASE and its negative effects by growing layers of doped host crystals that contain absorbing ions. The approach results in improving the quality of high power lasers and overall laser performance by minimizing or eliminating ASE.

Applications:

Optics, High power lasers