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2012
Conference Paper
Title
Advanced solid-state lasers are merging with accelerators
Abstract
In recent years, lasers have been developed to an essential tool in accelerator science for a variety of uses, ranging from the production and manipulation of electron beams to novel acceleration techniques and advanced light sources. These applications in accelerator science require for advanced high average high peak power lasers as pointed out most recently by ICFA (The International Committee for Future Accelerators); ICUIL (The International Committee on Ultra-High Intensity Lasers); ICAN (International Coherent Amplifier Network) and IZEST (International Zeta-Exa-Watt Science and Technology). However, lasers are known as sophisticated systems with a notorious poor efficiency. Most recently, rare-earth-doped fibers have established themselves as an attractive and power scalable solid-state laser concept. Using advanced large-mode-area fibers, in continuous-wave operation output powers in the 10 kW-regime with diffraction-limited beam quality at electrical to optical efficiencies of 30 percent have been demonstrated. In the pulsed regime average powers of the order of 1 kW even for femtosecond fiber laser systems have been reported. Coherent beam combination of these lasers allows for the generation of high peak power pulses at high repetition rates and output powers. In this contribution the state of the art in solid-state laser technology operating at high average powers with inherent high efficiencies is reviewed. The prospects for future developments that will meet the demands set by the accelerator community will be discussed.