Beam quality considerations of high power Nd:YAG lasers

High power Nd:YAG lasers with fiber optic beam delivery have introduced new capabilities for material processing applications. Here, we present the stable resonator design for high power Nd:YAG lasers to optimize beam quality for fiber optic transmission. Dependence of beam parameters on position and dioptric power of thermal lens has been investigated and optimized to achieve efficient fiber optic beam delivery. With the optimum resonator configuration, an efficient fiber optic beam delivery over the entire operating range of input power has been achieved. The results of stable resonator design with good beam quality and output power have been presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]