Diode-pumped highly efficient Yb:(Y,Sc)2O3 mixed sesquioxide ceramic lasers

The first highly efficient laser action was demonstrated in Yb-doped (Y,Sc) 2 O 3 transparent ceramics under a quasi-continuous wave diode end pumping at 929.4 nm. The ceramic samples were fabricated using solid-state vacuum sintering of mixed sesquioxide nanoparticles with various Y/Sc balances synthesized by laser ablation. For the (Yb 0.058 Sc 0.508 Y 0.434 ) 2 O 3 ceramic we measured a maximum output power of 5 W at 1086 nm while the highest slope efficiency was 61.3%.