Abstract

Transient temperature fluctuations in end-pumped multipulsed laser rods are functions of the spatial distribution of the pump beam and its time envelope. These transient temperature fluctuation reach a quasisteady-state condition in a few seconds for the modeled Nd:YAG rod and in ~1 s for the modeled Ti: sapphire rod. The highest temperature variations occur when the pump beam has a Gaussian radial profile. A flat pump profile has two advantages: the temperature at the center of the end-pumped face is lower and the profile becomes almost parabolic. The mathematical model takes into consideration the material thermal conductivity, specific heat, and the surface heat transfer coefficient.¹ The model assumes a uniform train of pulses.² The spatial and temporal dependence of the pulses are specified.

© 1991 Optical Society of America