Measurement of thermal effects in solid-state laser gain medium by digital holography

Xiaoyuan Peng; Yang Yu; Zhaomin Wang; Weijuan Qu; Chee Yuen Cheng; Saw Soon Yong; Yong Poo Chia

doi:10.1117/12.2039938

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28 February 2014 Measurement of thermal effects in solid-state laser gain medium by digital holography

Xiaoyuan Peng, Yang Yu, Zhaomin Wang, Weijuan Qu, Chee Yuen Cheng, Saw Soon Yong, Yong Poo Chia

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Proceedings Volume 8959, Solid State Lasers XXIII: Technology and Devices; 895922 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2039938
Event: SPIE LASE, 2014, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

In high power diode pumped solid-state lasers, thermal effects in the laser medium are important factors limiting the power scaling and beam quality. Besides total pump power, pump structure, such as pump geometry, cooling scheme, laser crystal shape and dimension all affect the result of thermal effects. The theoretical modelling and calculations may only conclude approximate results with the consideration of parts of factors. This paper introduces a new technique of measuring Nd:YAG rod thermal lensing by digital holography (DH). Both dynamic and steady state can be measured by this method. The digitally recorded hologram can reveal each part of the thermal effects in the crystal, and detailed variations of thermal effects can be mapped out through digital reconstructions of the captured holograms. It can help to study the uniformity of the pump distribution in the gain medium, find "hot" spots which may result in potential crystal crack. Moreover, an integrated thermal lensing can be accurately determined. DH is an informative tool to understand thermal effects and provide a guidance for laser cavity design and simulations.

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Xiaoyuan Peng, Yang Yu, Zhaomin Wang, Weijuan Qu, Chee Yuen Cheng, Saw Soon Yong, and Yong Poo Chia "Measurement of thermal effects in solid-state laser gain medium by digital holography", Proc. SPIE 8959, Solid State Lasers XXIII: Technology and Devices, 895922 (28 February 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2039938

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