Abstract

The polarization distortions of high-power laser radiation, which arise when it passes through a solid-state optical element cut from a uniaxial crystal, are studied theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical analysis is carried out taking into account the anisotropy of all physical properties of the crystal for an optical element with an arbitrary orientation of the crystallographic axes. Experimental verification shows convincing agreement with theoretical concepts. The problem of minimizing polarization distortions for optical elements cut in a direction close to the direction of the optical axis is considered.

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