Edge-pumped asymmetric Yb：YAG/YAG thin disk lasers

In order to pump a solid disk laser effectively,edge-pumped scheme forYb:YAGthin disk solid-state laser wasadopted.More than 80% absorption efficiency and homogenous absorption distribution were obtained with an asymmetric composite crystal.The heat sink with its thermal conduction efficiency over 12W/(cm2·K) satisfied the system requirement forcooling well.In the experiment,maximum output power of over 123W was achieved with slope efficiency of 34.8%.The results show that it is prospective to adopt edge-pumped scheme for thin disk solid-state lasers.