Stress-induced depolarization loss in a YAG zigzag slab

The stress-induced depolarization loss in a [1 1 1] orientated YAG zigzag slab was studied. The process to get correct piezo-optic tensor was given in detail. The results indicated that the relationships between losses and cut angles varied with the change in the bounce numbers of light in zigzag propagation through the slab. The loss mainly occurred in the area near the edges in width and the mean depolarization loss was less than 3%. The coupling of a laser beam with adequate bounce number and aspect ratio less than 1 on the entrance plane was found to reduce the depolarization loss.