Mid-IR laser systems are now widely used in a variety of applications. Cr2+:CdSe and Cr2+:ZnSe crystals are considered among the most promising active media due to the wide tuning range in the mid-IR range. However, they have a high thermooptic coefficient and lower thermal conductivity. These properties lead to strong thermal effects and limitations in power scaling. One solution is to use a MOPA configuration. A sophisticated mathematical model was developed to select the optimal parameters, taking into account the temperature variation in the crystal, the beam geometry, the luminescence lifetime dependence on temperature, the refractive index gradient, and its effect on the intensity profile. In this paper, we present a comparison of theoretical data and experimental values according to the developed model. The comparison demonstrated the validity of the simulation results and the ability to use the model to calculate the optimal MOPA system configuration.
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