We present performance data of recent high-power laser diodes emitting at typical pump wavelengths for alkali vapor lasers: 852 nm for cesium, 780 nm for rubidium, 766 nm for potassium, and 670 nm for lithium atoms. Due to different approaches in alkali laser systems, we report on usual pumps at these non-standard wavelengths with typical line widths of a few nm used for collisional and pressure broadened gas absorption lines as well as on wavelength stabilized laser diodes using volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) for systems with narrow gas absorption lines. The detailed characterization of laser diodes available at DILAS includes power, efficiency, spectral data, and life time results. While bars at 6xx and 7xx nm are limited in optical output power due to the strong in-built strain, especially the bars at 852 nm with a small inbuilt strain have the biggest potential in terms of pump power.

In this paper we present a detailed characterization of different diode laser sources based on the scalable modular concept. The optical output power is scaled from 180 W coupled into a 100 μm NA 0.22 fiber up to 1.7 kW coupled into a 400 μm NA 0.22 fiber. In addition we present a lightweight laser unit with an output power of more than 300 W for a 200 μm NA 0.22 fiber with a weight vs. power ratio of only 0.9 kg/kW.