Thermal lens measurements in a Nd:GdVO4 self-Raman laser

A method to characterize the thermal lens in a Nd:GdVO4 self-Raman laser is presented. The thermal focal length was measured to be as short as 180 mm with a self-Raman laser output power of 0.95 W. For comparison, the thermal focal lengths in the cases of fundamental operation and first-Stokes operation were measured experimentally, indicating that the heat generated in the SRS process exacerbated the thermal loading of the Nd:GdVO4 crystal.