Performance of diode-pumped Yb:YAP lasers with different crystal orientations

High power performance of diode-pumped Yb:YAP lasers with different crystal orientation (cuts) was investigated. The crystal samples exhibited similar pump absorption properties. In continuous-wave (CW) regime, the maximum output power of <7 W could be generated using the b-cut and c-cut Yb:YAP crystals with slope efficiency up to 70%, while the laser with the a-cut crystal was limited to 5.6 W of output power most likely due to the thermal lensing effect. Owing to the high thermal conductivity and broad emission bandwidth of Yb:YAP, this crystal is a suitable laser host for high power laser operation in CW and pulsed regimes.