Theoretical study on thermal behavior of passively Q-switched microchip Nd:YAG laser

This study deals with the thermal characterization of a continuous wave (CW-) and end-pumped passively Q-switched microchip Nd:YAG laser crystal by solving the rate and heat transfer equations in the laser cavity. In this approach, a parametric study has been performed to investigate the influence of the pumping parameters, cooling metal dimension and also the crystal dimension and doping concentration on the thermal behavior of the laser crystal. Obtained results reveal a closed correlation between the mentioned parameters and the thermal behavior of the crystal indicating that a proper selection of the laser parameters is essential to control the crystal's temperature and improve the performance of the laser accordingly.