Abstract

Efficient operation of diode-pumped solid-state lasers with both high average power and good beam quality is generally limited by thermal effects in the laser gain medium. The effects of these distortions can be mitigated by application different pumping and extraction architecture. Zigzag slab lasers (see, for example, [1,2]) have demonstrated near-diffraction-limited output power at above 1 kW, because zigzag propagation by means of total internal reflections (TIR) eliminates thermally induced optical path differences over the entire beam area [3]. All the best slab architecture could demonstrate only at homogeneous pump distribution over active volume. We investigate experimentally the degree of absorbed pumping inhomogeneity which could influence the beam quality.

© 2011 Optical Society of America