Intracavity Raman conversion and Raman beam cleanup

Transient solutions of the transverse depleted-pump and Stokes field distri butions are obtained for an externally-pumped solid-state Raman laser. The results are shown to agree well with experiment measurements made on a Q-sw itched Nd:YAG pumped solid-state barium nitrate Raman laser. The theory of intracavity Raman conversion of real optical beams is presented, and the me chanisms responsible for Raman beam cleanup and mode confinement are qualit atively discussed and modeled by computer simulations. (C) 1999 Elsevier Sc ience B.V. All rights reserved.