Optical distortions of a light beam in a large-aperture disk amplifier

Optical phase distortions, occurring when a light beam passes through a disk amplifier of 12 cm aperture in both the excited and unexcited states, were studied by the method of double-exposure holographic interferometry. The effect of the ultraviolet component of the pump-lamp radiation on the magnitude of the optical distortions was investigated at different moments during a pump pulse. It was established that the distortions were least when the ultraviolet component was absent.