Abstract

CW or pulsed Nd:YAG lasers are among the lasers that have known one of the largest scientific and industrial developments, principally through thermical processes related to the high-average-power of emission. Another mode of operation was rather reserved to the scientific domain: the Q-switched mode leading to very short pulse durations (5 to 30 ns) and very high peak powers of a few tens of MW. This generates optomechanical effects where the thermical exchanges do not have time to appear and to spread, the average power of these lasers being moreover limited to 10 or 25 W.

© 1994 IEEE