Diamond heat sink in a laser

Abstract

A laser has a laser material in thermal contact with a diamond, such that the diamond is operable to carry heat away from the laser material. In further embodiments, the diamond has a reduced nitrogen content, is a reduced carbon-13 content, is a monocrystalline or multilayer low-strain diamond, or has a thermal conductivity of greater than 2200 W/mK.

1 . A laser assembly, comprising:
 a laser material to couple to an energy source to generate or amplify radiation;   a chemical vapor deposition formed monocrystalline diamond in contact with the laser material, the diamond operable to transfer heat from the laser material.   
     
     
         2 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond comprises less than 1 ppm impurities. 
     
     
         3 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond has a thermal conductivity of greater than 2200 W/mK. 
     
     
         4 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond has a thermal conductivity of greater than 2700 W/mK. 
     
     
         5 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond has a thermal conductivity of greater than 3200 W/mK. 
     
     
         6 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond is isotopically enhanced with carbon-12 such that the resulting carbon-13 concentration is less than 1%. 
     
     
         7 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond is isotopically enhanced with carbon-12 such that the resulting carbon-13 concentration is less than 0.1%. 
     
     
         8 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond is isotopically enhanced with carbon-12 such that the resulting carbon-13 concentration is less than 0.001%. 
     
     
         9 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond is has a nitrogen concentration of less than 50 ppm. 
     
     
         10 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond is has a nitrogen concentration of less than 10 ppm. 
     
     
         11 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond is has a nitrogen concentration of less than 5 ppm. 
     
     
         12 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond is a low-strain multilayer monocrystalline CVD diamond, wherein the multiple layers of the multilayer diamond comprise different atomic composition. 
     
     
         13 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the laser material is a gas laser material. 
     
     
         14 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the laser material is a chemical laser material. 
     
     
         15 . The laser assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the laser material is a solid laser material. 
     
     
         16 . A semiconductor laser, comprising:
 a semiconductor p-n junction;   a laser active region; and   at least one layer of chemical vapor deposition formed monocrystalline diamond coupled to the p-n junction or the laser active region.   
     
     
         17 . The semiconductor laser of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one layer of diamond comprises at least one p-type material used to form the p-n junction, n-type material used to form the p-n junction, and the laser active region. 
     
     
         18 . The semiconductor laser of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one layer of diamond is a substrate on which the semiconductor p-n junction and active region are constructed. 
     
     
         19 . A method of constructing a laser assembly, comprising:
 configuring a diamond in contact with a laser material, the laser material to couple to an energy source to generate or amplify radiation, wherein the diamond is operable to transfer heat from the laser material.   
     
     
         20 . The method of constructing a laser assembly of  claim 19 , wherein the diamond is a synthetic monocrystalline diamond.