Self-compensating amplifier design for cw and Q-switched high-power Nd:YAG lasers.
We experimentally demonstrate a self-adaptive compensation of the pump power dependent thermal lens in an Nd:YAG laser through a thin layer of a medium with a negative temperature dependence of the refractive index. The layer is thermally coupled to the laser rod and leads to a strikingly improved beam quality over a large stability range. The scheme allows for a scaling to high powers as well as pulsed-mode operation.
Roth
Michelle
M
Romano
Valerio
V
Feurer
T
T
Graf
Thomas
T