Abstract

A zigzag slab laser is expected to provide a high average output power with high beam quality compared with the rod type laser. A thinner slab is favored for more efficient cooling, allowing higher average pumping power, but the aspect ratio of the slab is limited by mechanical stability of the slab. To overcome this limitation, a composite glass slab laser has been proposed¹ in which the nonactive glass layer is sandwiched by two active glass layers of the same thickness. We have built and operated composite glass slab lasers for the first time, we believe.

© 1990 Optical Society of America