Temporal characteristics of repetitive frequency Nd:YAG thin-disc laser

Considering the four-level rate equations and the effects of pumping rate, loss factor and temperature, this paper theoretically deduced the expression of turn-on delay time for high power thin-disc laser. The numerical simulation results demonstrate the relationship of the pumping rate, loss factor and temperature versus the turn-on delay time. Corresponding experimental research was carried out on a kW-level repetition-frequency V-cavity Nd:YAG thin-disc laser. The relaxation oscillation curves illustrating the variations of photon number and inverted population were measured. The turn-on delay time was measured when the pump current was in the range of 30 A to 80 A. The experiment results show that the turn-on delay time reduces with the increase of pumping rate, which is consistent with the theoretical analysis.