5.5 W CW Yb3+:Y2O3 ceramic laser pumped with 970 nm laser diode

CW laser output has been demonstrated for polycrystalline transparent 10 at.% Yb3+-doped Y2O3 ceramics. End-pumped with 970 nm laser diode, a maximum output power of 5.5 W has been obtained with absorbed pump power of 31.1 W. The slope efficiency is 25% while the threshold pump power is 5.6 W. Saturation is not observed in our experiments, indicating higher laser output can be expected with higher pump power.