Z-BLUE beam 457

The objectives were ambitious with a beam quality of M² = 1.0 and an optical power > 500mW and a
compact overall size of 300x200x200mm. To achieve this kind of power and beam quality in such a
small package a novel kind of pumping concept needed to be developed. By utilising an 880nm
emitting laser bar highly efficient pumping of the solid state disc was achieved in such a compact
housing size. Bulky thermal masses were eliminated with this approach without affecting the
performance of the laser.

The air circulation based cooling mechanism manages without water or other costly and cumbersome
equipment. This means that this is not uniquely a laboratory laser but instead is designed and
targeted to industrial and medical fields.

At the LASER trade fair in Munich a free space emitting version of the novel blue disc laser will be
presented. This laser version includes the optical system, the air cooling ventilation as well as the
electronics and user interface. For OEM clients it is possible to fully customize the system or simply
offer the optical head including the disc and pumping resonator for integration into a customized
system.