High average power stimulated Raman scattering in crystals: Comparison of KGW and diamond

The power and beam quality behavior of second-Stokes KGW and diamond external cavity Raman lasers at pump powers up to 40 W has been investigated. Severe thermally-induced effects are evident in the KGW Raman laser at high power levels whereas for diamond these are negligible. The diamond Raman laser generated a maximum of 16 W with conversion efficiency and output beam brightness 2.2 and 13 times higher respectively than for KGW.