Modeling of partially end-pumped Nd:YAG slab laser

Summary form only given.This paper is about the modeling of a new generation of partially end pumped slab-lasers. In contrast to former zigzag slab lasers, the optical axis goes straight through the crystal. The use of a diode stack as pumping source in combination with a stable-unstable hybrid resonator allows nearly-diffraction-limited beam quality and high output power. The mode cross section of the hybrid resonator is small in the stable and large in the unstable direction. The radiation of the diode stack is adapted for this configuration because of the good beam quality in the first direction, that coincides with the stable direction of the resonator. The slow axis corresponds to the unstable direction of the resonator. The contact cooling in combination with a slow axis invariant pump light distribution generates a nearly one-dimensional (1D) heat conduction, that leads to a parabolic distribution of the diffraction index, which can be compared to a thermal cylindrical lens.