High-mean-output solid state lasers with hybrid pumping

A hybrid-power-supply laser is reported which features a variable optical flashlamp pump spectrum. For an active element of 6.3-mm diameter, 100 mm long, an absolute efficiency of 4.5 percent has been achieved, with an output power of 135 W. The use of a well-known divergence correction scheme based on an unstable resonator has made it possible to achieve an angular output brightness of 150 MW/sr with a divergence of 0.6 mrad and a power output of 80 W.