Experimental study and modeling of a diode-side-pumped Nd: YVO4 laser

The design of three cavities for a solid-state Nd:YVO4 laser side-pumped by a diode laser is presented as well as the theoretical model and computed simulation developed to describe each system. The computed results are compared with the experiments demonstrating to be in accordance with each other. It is found that an elliptical cavity provides the best balance between the laser output power and quality of a transversal beam profile.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.