Neodymium-glass laser with a high output energy and a beam divergence close to the diffraction limit

The results of the development, fabrication, and study of a Nd-glass laser system operating in the free-lasing regime with a high output energy and a beam divergence close to the diffraction limit are presented. The laser can emit both single pulses and series of two pulses with a delay between the pulses in the range 160-500 mu s. The radiated energy in each pulse of a se ries is at least 4 kJ. The angular divergence of the radiation in the first pulse at the level of 0.5 of the total radiated energy does not exceed 0.2 rad, and the divergence of the second pulse does not exceed 0.3 mrad. The service life of the laser is estimated as several hundred flashes. (C) 2000 The Optical Society of America. [S1070-9762(00)01904-7].