Thermal management in disc lasers: doped-dielectric and semiconductor laser gain media in thin-disc and microchip formats

Finite element and analytical modelling of thermal effects in doped-dielectric and semiconductor disc lasers is used to assess advanced approaches to thermal management. The prospective utility of high thermal conductivity materials such as diamond - particularly to improve the spectral coverage in semiconductor disc lasers and to scale the output power of quasi-monolithic microchip lasers - is illustrated. The potential of materials with strong pump absorption to improve the practicality of doped-dielectric thin-disc lasers, particularly for mobile applications, is also outlined.