Effect of Laser Irradiation on Optical Properties and Damage Threshold of Nd:Glass.

We investigate the effects of 10.6 μm CO2 laser irradiation and 572 nm dye laser irradiation on optical properties and laser damage threshold of Nd:glass. We study the transmission, additional absorption (AA) spectra, and damage threshold of the samples before and after the irradiation. The results obtained indicate that irradiation of Nd:glass by pulsed CO2 and dye lasers is extremely effective for decrease of defects and increase in damage thresholds. The damage threshold of Nd:glass increases by a factor of 4.13 for dye laser and a factor of 3.1 for CO2 laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]