We will review recent advances in Membrane-External-Cavity Surface-Emitting-Laser (MECSEL) technology, including beam quality, tunability and wafer-scale bonding to SiC heat spreaders. Using a hybrid MECSEL with a DBR bonded to one of the heat spreaders and in-well pumping to reduce the quantum defect, we demonstrate high-power operation at 1178 nm. Using a birefringent filter and etalon, and intra-cavity frequency doubling, we achieve single-longitudinal-mode operation at 589 nm with more than 10 W of power and a linewidth below 8 MHz. Saturated absorption spectroscopy in a sodium cell is used to lock the laser to the D2a transition.
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