Radially polarized 3 kW beam from a CO2 laser with an intracavity resonant grating mirror

Opt Lett. 2007 Jul 1;32(13):1824-6. doi: 10.1364/ol.32.001824.

Abstract

A 3 kW radially polarized beam is generated from a CO(2) laser by means of a resonant grating mirror. The design results and spectral characterization of a broadband polarizing mirror are presented as well as the mirror's operation in a CO(2) laser resonator. In a long-term experiment a radially polarized beam with a power of 2.7 kW was observed for several hours, proving the high stability of this polarizing scheme.