Measurements of heating and energy storage in flashlamp-pumped Nd:YAG and Nd-doped phosphate laser glasses

Abstract

We have experimentally measured the energy stored and the heat generated in flashlamp-pumped Nd:YAG and six different commercially available Nd-doped phosphate glasses. We find that the normalized heating parameter <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">X</tex> , defined as the heat deposited per unit stored energy, is 1.5-2 times the value expected from the known spectroscopy of the Nd ions in these hosts and the emission spectrum of Xenon flashlamps. We discuss the heat sources in Nd-doped glasses. Using a theoretical model, we calculate the influence of Nd concentration, flashlamp pulse length, and current density on <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">X</tex> , and we point out the effects of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">X</tex> on practical laser designs.