Open AccessInfluence of a ring-shaped pump beam on temperature distribution and thermal lensing in end-pumped solid state lasers
Author(s) -
D J Kim,
Sung Hyun Noh,
Suneung Ahn,
J W Kim
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.25.014668
Subject(s) - optics , laser beam quality , laser , materials science , beam (structure) , beam parameter product , thermal , m squared , laser power scaling , optical pumping , amplifier , laser pumping , brightness , optoelectronics , physics , laser beams , cmos , meteorology
A simple method for reducing thermal lensing in an end-pumped solid state laser using a ring-shaped pump beam is reported. Analytical expressions for the temperature distribution and the thermal lensing focal length in a laser medium end-pumped by a beam with a ring-shaped intensity profile are derived. The results indicate that thermal effects including thermal lensing can be significantly reduced due to a more uniform temperature distribution. This approach has been applied to a Nd:YVO 4 amplifier operating at 1064 nm confirming that the brightness of the output beam can be remarkably improved at high power levels due to the better beam quality for the ring-shaped pumping compared to the conventional quasi-top-hat pumping. The prospects for power scaling and further improvement in laser performance will be discussed.