Absorbing Centers in Laser Materials
1971; American Institute of Physics; Volume: 42; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1063/1.1660072
ISSN1520-8850
Autores Tópico(s)Optical Systems and Laser Technology
ResumoOne of the severe problems encountered in high-power-solid-state laser systems is the thermal damage to laser rods and optical elements arising from metallic or dielectric inclusions; i.e., impurities with physical and optical properties which differ substantially from those of the host material. Such inclusions may absorb an appreciable amount of the incident radiation and thereby may produce major stresses within the host material. In this paper, the dependence of the maximum value of the tensile stress upon the size of the inclusion and upon the physical properties of the host is examined. The feasibility of using optical techniques to detect metallic and dielectric inclusions in laser materials before they cause damage also is studied. The computations suggest that the use of laser pulse widths of the order of microseconds or longer may be more promising for the detection of small incipient absorbing centers than the use of nanosecond pulse widths.
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