LAUSR

Abstract In order to achieve a high beam quality for acousto-optic Q-switched anisotropic Nd:YLF quasi-continuous lasers, the influence factors of Nd:YLF laser beam quality is studied. The thermal strain distribution of an anisotropic Nd:YLF laser is simulated by finite element method in steady state, the laser beam is optimized by inserting a Gaussian aperture into the resonator cavity, and the distribution of the light field in the resonator is analyzed according to the Collins theory. The beam quality with or without a Gaussian aperture in the resonant cavity is experimentally compared. Experiments show that inserting a Gaussian aperture in the resonant cavity can effectively improve the output beam quality for anisotropic Nd:YLF lasers.