Effect of nonuniform heating of the active disk on characteristics of the solid-state laser cavity

Generation characteristics of the neodymium laser with disk active element and diodepumped active medium were studied. It was shown that lasing occurs at a cavity length significantly exceeding the focal length of the thermal lens induced in the active element. Bending radii of the active disk surface were determined depending on the absorbed pump power. The cavity calculation performed taking into account the active disk surface bending showed that the negative lens formed by such bending of the surface and a laser mirror deposited on it efficiently compensates for the positive thermal lens, thus expanding the stability region of the disk laser cavity.