CW Nd:YAG THERMO-STABLE RESONATORS OPERATING IN POWER-STEADY STATES

There are two dynamical stable zones in the operation of solid laser containing a thermal lens. In this paper, we point out that in the two stable zones two kinds of dynamical stable states can exist in a laser resonator: mode-steady thermo-stable state and power-steady thermo-stable state. They are different from each other in general. The operating conditions for power-steady thermo-stable state are presented. A cw Nd: YAG thermo-stable resonator operating in power-steady states has been designed, and 40 W TEM₀₀ output power in 1.06μm is obtained experimentally.