Hugo Costa

Research Areas

PhD Project: Multibeam solar laser station with a Fresnel lens for the most efficient and cost-effective TEM₀₀-mode laser power production

Resume: 

Lasers operating in TEM₀₀-mode are of considerable relevance in laser-based applications. However, providing a large amount of pump power to a classical single-rod laser can lead to the accumulation of excessive heat in the active medium, causing significant thermal induced effects and, consequently, impairing the laser beam quality.

In that regard, a multirod/multibeam solar pumping scheme is proposed. It will be composed of a first-stage Fresnel lens and a secondary fused silica aspheric concentrator, concentrating the incoming solar light towards four thin Ce:Nd:YAG rods, mounted inside a single conical pump cavity. Solar rays not completely absorbed by one of the rods will be absorbed by the others, ensuring a high absorption efficiency, and substantially reducing the thermal induced effects in the rods. Four renewable TEM₀₀-mode laser beams with enhanced performance will hence be simultaneously available, which may offer an affordable and sustainable energy solution for all.