Title :
Temperature and thermal stress scaling in finite-length end-pumped laser rods
Author :
Cousins, Ananada K.
Author_Institution :
STI Optronics, Bellevue, WA, USA
fDate :
4/1/1992 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Thermal effects lead to upper limits on the maximum achievable power in end-pumped solid-state laser rods. Thermal fracture is an ultimate limitation on pump power, while optical distortions and depolarization leading to increased losses in the laser resonator tend to yield a lower upper bound on the pump power. The relevant optical distortion profiles and maximum stresses are derived as a function of length-to-diameter ratio and pump spot size. Length-to-diameter ratios up to 1.5 are considered. Edge-cooled and face-cooled active-mirror geometries are analyzed and compared directly. The problem is cast into a nondimensional form so that the results are applicable to arbitrary rod materials
Keywords :
laser cavity resonators; optical pumping; solid lasers; thermal stresses; depolarization; edge cooled active mirror geometries; end-pumped solid-state laser rods; face-cooled active-mirror geometries; finite-length end-pumped laser rods; laser resonator; length-to-diameter ratio; losses; optical distortion profiles; optical distortions; pump power; pump spot size; temperature scaling; thermal fracture; thermal stress scaling; Laser excitation; Laser noise; Optical distortion; Optical losses; Optical resonators; Power lasers; Pump lasers; Solid lasers; Temperature; Thermal stresses;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
