Length Reduction of High Power Nd: YAG Laser by Decreasing Nd:YAG Medium Length and Optical Cavity Length

A compact and simple schematic of Nd: YAG laser is highly required in various industrial applications. In order to achieve smaller schematic of Nd: YAG optical resonator than that from the previous work, this paper presents the analysis of the effects of Nd:YAG medium length and optical cavity length to Nd:YAG laser characteristics by using LASCAD software. It is found that the laser output power and temperature distribution inside Nd:YAG medium are not significantly affected by Nd:YAG medium length. And the optical cavity length affects to the spot sizes of laser beam at both laser mirrors, and that also affects to laser stability. However, the laser output powers are nearly the same by varying the optical cavity length. Based on there results, finally, the length reduction of compact high power Nd: YAG laser can be achieved by decreasing Nd:YAG medium length from 60 mm to 15 mm, and optical cavity length from 260 mm to 115 mm, respectively. By using this proposed structure, the output laser characteristics are almost the same with those of standard Nd:YAG laser structure.