Laser-induced cooling of a Yb:YAG crystal in air at atmospheric pressure

We report for the first time the experimental demonstration of optical cooling of a bulk crystal at atmospheric pressure. The use of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor to measure laser-induced cooling in real time is also demonstrated for the first time. A temperature drop of 8.8 K from the chamber temperature was observed in a Yb:YAG crystal in air when pumped with 4.2 W at 1029 nm. A background absorption of 2.9 x 10(-4) cm(-1) was estimated with a pump wavelength at 1550 nm. Simulations predict further cooling if the pump power is optimized for the sample's dimensions. (C)2013 Optical Society of America