Simulation of the wavefront distortion and beam quality for a high-power zigzag slab laser

• A new simulation method has been developed in the design for a high power zigzag slab laser.
• The wavefront distortion and beam quality are able to be quickly estimated for various optical designs.
• A Nd:YAG zigzag slab laser amplifier was designed as an application.
• The optimized design shows a beam quality of 1.20 corresponding to the minimized wavefront distortion.

A simulation method of the beam quality for a high-power zigzag slab laser has been developed. This method can predict the wavefront distortion and beam quality for various optical arrangements and optimize the design effectively. A Nd:YAG zigzag slab laser amplifier was designed as an application. The optimized design shows a beam quality of 1.20 corresponding to the minimized wavefront distortion with a peak-to-valley of 0.568 μm and root mean square of 0.115 μm even under high-power operation with a total pump power of 14 kW. Although there are some effects other than the optical design error that incur wavefront distortions, this method can help to determine the first optical design of the zigzag slab laser without the need for many experimental studies.