Details
Yb:KGW and Yb:KYW crystals are used as lasing materials to generate ultrashort high power pulses. Yb:KGW can be used as ultrashort pulses amplifiers and these crystals are one of the best materials for high power thin disk lasers.
The broad spectral emission band of Yb:KYW allows the tuning of the laser radiation over 1020-1060 nm range and the generation of femtosecond pulses shorter than 70 fs. Enhanced storage capacity, wide absorption spectrum at 980 nm and high absorption of pump radiation in a small crystal region allow an efficient use of diode laser pump.
As compared to YAG or glasses used as hosts for Yb3+, KYW and KGdW have the advantage of a larger absorption cross section than YAG, which decreases the minimum pump intensity necessary to achieve transparency in the quasi-two-level system of ytterbium.
