The Laser Diode (LD) end-pumped solid-state lasers with excellent output characteristics are extensively used in many fields. The thermal effects of the laser crystal are one of the key factors preventing the laser from achieving high-quality output. In this paper, the thermal effects of a laser at 1 kHz repetition rate were explored by developing a three-dimensional thermal model of an end-Quasi-Continuous Waves (QCW) LD pumped Nd: YAG crystal. Considering the radial and axial heat conduction of the laser crystal, the transient temperature field within the crystal was numerically calculated using a seven-point Finite Difference Method (FDM). The transient thermal effects of the composite crystal were compared with those of the non-composite crystal. The effects of different parameters on the transient thermal effects of the composite crystal were discussed in detail. This simulation work is believed to guide the design of thermally stable cavities for lasers operating at muti-kHz to attain favorable laser characteristics.
We report a compact and highly stable 1064-nm electro-optic Q-switched laser operating at the repetition rate of 1 kHz. A composite Nd:YAG crystal was used as the gain media and the cavity length was 105 mm. Under the average pump power of 11 W, the output power achieved 2.404 W with the pulse width of 4.558 ns, corresponding to the maximum peak power of 0.527 MW and the optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 21.85%. The slope efficiency reached 42.69%. The beam quality in the horizontal (Mx2) and vertical (My2) directions were 1.81 and 1.58, respectively. The pulse timing jitter was less than 1 ns, and the average power fluctuation measured within 30 min was 0.83% (RMS). It is believed that such a compact and highly stable pulsed laser with high repetition rate, high peak power, and good beam quality has great potential in the fields of lidar, etc.
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