Thermal lensing in diode-pumped ytterbium lasers -: Part I:: Theoretical analysis and wavefront measurements

被引:83
作者
Chénais, S [1 ]
Balembois, F [1 ]
Druon, F [1 ]
Lucas-Leclin, G [1 ]
Georges, P [1 ]
机构
[1] Lab Charles Fabry, Inst Opt, Ctr Sci, F-91403 Orsay, France
关键词
photothermal effects; solid lasers; thermo-optic effects; ytterbium;
D O I
10.1109/jqe.2004.833198
中图分类号
TM [电工技术]; TN [电子技术、通信技术];
学科分类号
0808 ; 0809 ;
摘要
A theoretical and experimental study of thermal lensing in Yb-doped crystals is presented. In this first part, we focus on theoretical considerations and we describe an original technique suitable for thermal lensing measurements in end-pumped materials. We first derive an expression of the temperature distribution with account of absorption saturation and pump beam divergence inside the crystal, and we address a more general discussion on the particularities of quasi-three-level lasers, as far as thermal effects and fracture issues are concerned. The thermal lens was then measured using a simple technique based on a Shack-Hartmann wavefront analyzer, under lasing and nonlasing conditions. We demonstrate that the technique allows precise wavefront measurements even on small spots. Thermal lensing measurements are finally presented in Yb-doped YAG, GGG, YCOB, GdCOB, KGW, and YSO crystals.
引用
收藏
页码:1217 / 1234
页数:18
相关论文
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