Fagot lasers

Fagot lasers have been constructed by holding a nnmher of identical laser rods in cages consisting of blllkheads held together by tie rods. The bulkheads separate the rods to allow water flow between them and prevent them from saging or moving in translation or rotation. The fagot laser is then held in the usual laser cavity hardware in a similar manner to a solid cylindrical laser rod. The fagot configuration is motivated by the desire to operate glass laser systems at high average input power which can produce radial splitting of the rod due to the tangential stress caused by the cooling gradient from center to edge. Analysis shows that the fagot, laser can have substantially greater power handling capability than a solid rod of the same volume and length.