Abstract
Recently, we have reported a technique for efficient face pumping of thin slab solid state lasers [1] which overcomes the low pump absorption of slabs with thickness below one millimetre, and which is an area scalable design. The thin slab concept has the advantage of high gain, reduced optical distortion by temperature gradients and high thermal fracture pump power. The configuration is attractive for Nd:glass lasers, countering the poor thermal conductivity and low gain cross-section, and reducing active material cost. In this paper we investigate the average power capabilities of thin Nd:glass slabs, for a range of of cooling techniques, to assess thermal distortion problems and to determine the feasibility of true cw operation.
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