title: Comprehensive modeling of the temperature-related laser performances of the amplifiers of the LUCIA laser.
abstract: We present numerical simulations of the temperature-related laser performance of the amplifiers for the Lasers Ultra-Courts et Intenses et Applications (LUCIA) laser, a 100 J, 10 Hz, 10 ns diode-pumping solid-state-laser facility, which uses Yb3+:YAG as the gain medium. The simulations include energy storage and extraction efficiency, cooling of the gain medium, and wavefront distortion. The results show that, with a pumping intensity of 20 kW/cm2 at 10 Hz and a doping concentration of 10 at. % at a thickness of Yb3+:YAG of 1.6 mm, the output laser fluence and optical-to-optical efficiency are expected to be 10 J/cm2 and 25.8%, respectively, at a heat exchange coefficient of 3000 W/m2/K of water. Also, the matching thickness of undoped YAG is optimized to prevent bending deformation of the gain medium, which could be approximately 5 mm.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intense, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7605, Ecole Polytechnique--Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Haiwu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Gilbert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bourdet
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferre