978 nm LD Side-Pumped Er:LuYSGG CW Laser With 16.7 W Output Power at 2797 nm

We demonstrate the laser performance of 978 nm LD side-pumped Er:LuYSGG crystal rod in continuous wave (CW) mode. The maximum output power and slope efficiency are achieved to be 16.7 W and 12.4%, respectively. In addition, the optimal resonant cavity length of 80 mm exhibits excellent laser performance and confirms that the shorter cavity length can induce high output power. The thermal focal lengths of the crystal at different pump powers are determined using the output power variation method to reflect its thermal management capability. The laser wavelength is observed at 2797.0 nm and the beam quality factors of $\text{M}_{\mathrm {x}}^{2}/\text{M}_{\mathrm {y}}^{2}$ are fitted to be 7.4/8.7, respectively. All the results show that the high power and stable mid-infrared CW laser can be obtained by LD side-pumped Er:LuYSGG crystal.