Disk amplifier output stages

The energy characteristics of 90–mm and 120–mm diameter disk amplifiers were investigated. The population–inversion distributions in a transverse cross section and across the thickness of a disk, and the dependences of the gain on the pump energy were studied. The amplification efficiencies of the GLS1 silicate glass and the GLS21 phosphate glass were compared. At high pump energies the influence of supperradiance and parasitic lasing on the stored energy was found experimentally to be far greater for the phosphate glass than for the silicate glass. The results of investigations of the effect of the side surfaces and of the active-element dimensions on the efficiency of disk amplifying stages are reported.