Title :
Solid-state laser resonators with diffractive optic thermal aberration correction
Author :
Makki, Siamak ; Leger, James
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis, MN, USA
fDate :
7/1/1999 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
A solid-state laser cavity is studied where the laser crystal aberrations are corrected by a diffractive optic element. The type of aberration and the location of the correction plate are found to significantly influence the modal performance of the cavity. The largest modal discrimination is obtained for axicon-like crystal aberrations and when the correction is performed close to the end mirror. An experiment is performed with a laser diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser. With no correction, a thermal aberration of approximately two waves is measured across the crystal. By using a diffractive corrector plate, the single-mode slope efficiency is increased by a factor of 4, and the total single-mode output power is increased by a factor of 3
Keywords :
aberrations; diffractive optical elements; laser cavity resonators; laser mirrors; laser modes; neodymium; optical pumping; solid lasers; thermo-optical effects; yttrium compounds; YVO4:Nd; aberration; axicon-like crystal aberrations; correction plate location; diffractive corrector plate; diffractive optic thermal aberration correction; diffractive optical elements; end mirror; largest modal discrimination; laser crystal aberrations; laser diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser; modal performance; single-mode output power; single-mode slope efficiency; solid-state laser cavity; solid-state laser resonators; thermal aberration; Electronic packaging thermal management; Laser excitation; Optical diffraction; Optical distortion; Optical materials; Optical pumping; Optical refraction; Optical resonators; Pump lasers; Solid lasers;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
