A review on design modalities of solar-pumped solid-state laser

The rapid exhaustion of conventional energy sources and global environmental concerns are opening new opportunities to utilize sustainable and renewable energy. Amid the various renewable sources, solar energy is a promising, inexhaustible, and abundant form of freely available energy. The solar-driven laser system is one of the most acceptable technologies to harness solar power. Solar-powered laser converts the broadband solar radiation directly into the monochromatic, collimated, and coherent laser beam. The emitted laser beam may be widely used in space and terrestrial applications, including free-space optical communication, renewable energy cycle, asteroid deflection, space debris removal, material processing, nano-material production, and electric vehicles. The paper starts with a discussion of solar-powered lasers with distinct gain mediums such as liquid, gas, and solid. This paper illustrates details about the solar-powered solid-state lasers, which have the advantage of inherent high energy density and compactness, relatively low pumping threshold, and potential for efficient solar to laser power conversion. A comprehensive review of solid-state solar laser's construction, working principle, energy conversion process, and beam shaping are also presented. The state‐of‐the‐art procedures have been summarized for laser collection efficiency and laser output power. The power density of solar radiations received on the earth's surface is low and insufficient for lasing action. Hence, the solar concentrators are described in detail to enhance the energy density. Furthermore, the different Nd: YAG laser rods and pumping schemes are explained to reduce the thermal lens effect. Finally, the review is concluded with a conclusion and perspectives.