1993/09/20 by S. B. Sutton, Steven B. Sutton, G. F. Albrecht +1
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Amplifier #Beam (structure) #Distortion (music) #Gaussian #Gaussian beam #Laser #Laser Design and Applications #Lens (geology) #Materials science #Optics #Optoelectronics #Photorefractive and Nonlinear Optics #Physics #Solid State Laser Technologies #Spherical aberration
paper · doi:10.1364/ao.32.005256
openalex publication_date 1993/09/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We explore the thermo-optical issues of mode-matched end-pumped lasers. A combination of analytical and numerical methods is used to extract practically useful scaling relations that characterize the thermally induced optical distortions and the thermal-stress operating limits in rod lasers pumped with super-Gaussian sources. The thermally induced spherical aberration is found to be overcorrected (focal length increases with radial position), weakly dependent on the axial profile, and strongly dependent on the super-Gaussian order. For high-order radial profiles it is shown that a significant portion of the extraction beam will operate aberration free. The effect of aberrations on cavity stability is addressed for the simple case of a cavity with a length that is equal to the rod length.