A diode-pumped Yb:Y₂O₃ ceramic laser developed by scientists at the University of Electro-Communication in Tokyo, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, Konoshima Chemical Co. Ltd. in Takuma, Japan, and the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow emits 0.75 W of 1078-nm CW output from a pump power of 11 W. Ceramic laser hosts promise higher dopant concentrations and lower fabrication costs.

The device features a 3-mm-long, 20-mm-diameter Yb-doped ceramic disc. A fiber-coupled 940-nm diode laser bar served as the pump source. The laser threshold was 4.7 W, and the slope efficiency was 12.6 percent. The team described the laser in the April 21 issue of Applied Physics Letters.