Electronic mechanism for refractive-index changes in intensively pumped Yb:YAG laser crystals.
Refractive-index changes accompanying changes in population of electronic levels of Yb3+ ions in a Yb:YAG laser disk under intense diode and laser pumping have been studied by use of both a highly sensitive polarization interferometer and transient grating testing at 633 nm. The electronic change of the index that is due to excitation of the Yb3+ ions (which have different polarizability of ground state 2F7/2 and excited level 2F5/2) is strongly predominant over the thermal component. The polarizability differences are deltap (1.9 +/- 0.8) x 10(-26) and (1.95 +/- 0.25) x 10(-26) cm3 as measured at 633 nm in interferometric and transient grating experiments, respectively.
Antipov
O L
OL
Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Science, 46 Uljanov Street, Nizhny Novgorod 603950, Russia. antipov@appl.sci-nnov.ru
Bredikhin
D V
DV
Eremeykin
O N
ON
Savikin
A P
AP
Ivakin
E V
EV
Sukhadolau
A V
AV