Abstract
The beam quality of the solid-state lasers is restricted by the gain medium index of refraction nonuniformity. This nonuniformity, present also in Nd:YAG zigzag slabs, establishes as a result of the thermal equilibrium between the energy deposition in the bulk of the slab and the heat dissipation to the cooling medium.1 The nonuniformity of the index of refraction profile impacts the slab laser output by introducing aberrations of the wavefront. In zigzag slab lasers, the dominant aberration establishes as a pump volume end effect and has a cylindrical geometry.
© 1988 Optical Society of America
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