Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE
Intracavity optical refrigeration to 131K using high-power vertical external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs)
Mohammadreza Ghasemkhani, Alexander R. Albrecht, Seth D. Melgaard, Denis V. Seletskiy, Jeffrey G. Cedeberg, Mansoor Sheik‐Bahae
Abstract
Laser cooling of Yb:YLF crystal to 131 K from room temperature has been demonstrated in an active intracavity arrangement for enhanced pump absorption. The laser is a high-power, broadly-tunable InGaAs/GaAs MQW VECSEL capable of producing 20 Watts at 1020 nm, directly at the E4-E5 transition of the Yb-ion. This is the coldest temperature achieved to date in an intracavity geometry and without sophisticated heat load management of the crystal. This progress presents a significant advancement towards an all-solid-state compact cryocooler.