Thermal stress effects of the diode-end-pumped Nd:YLF slab

The thermal stress effects of the diode-end-pumped Nd:YLF slab laser crystals are numerically investigated. The theoretical model is established by considering the divergence of the pump beam in the slab and the additional heat generated in the upconversion. Using the three dimensional finite element analyses, accurate numerical solutions based on the theoretical model are achieved. Our analyses focuses on the thermal fracture damage of the Nd:YLF slab under both the lasing and non-lasing conditions, and the predicted values are compared with the experimental results.