O. Wittler et al., Characterization of a distortion-corrected Nd : YAG laser with a self-conjugating loop geometry, IEEE J Q EL, 35(4), 1999, pp. 656-664
A detailed experimental and theoretical characterization of a self-adaptive
solid-state laser is presented. The system uses a saturable gain medium (N
d:YAC amplifier) as the adaptive element in an externally injected self-int
ersecting loop geometry, We demonstrate energy output >300 mJ, high energy
reflectivity >10(4), low input energy threshold of similar to 5 mu J, and p
hase-conjugate properties of the system that compensate for both intracavit
y and extracavity phase distortions. The spatial output beam size is compar
ed to a Gaussian mode analysis based on ABCD ray transfer matrices, The tem
poral, spectral, energy, and threshold characteristics are compared to one-
dimensional analytical and transient numerical simulations.