Abstract

Continuous wave 808 nm pump laser-induced thermal damage of polycrystalline transparent ceramic and crystalline Nd:YAG materials was investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The measured temperature agrees well with the theoretical simulation, and the maximum hoop stresses occur on the incident facet of the end-pumped rod at about $\sqrt{2}$ times of the pump beam radius $w_0$, where the temperature gradient is the highest and the damage occurs first at this location. The fracture-limited laser intensity of ceramics was experimentally measured to be $6.4\pm 0.6\mathrm{kW}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$, nearly 64% higher than that of the crystals ($3.9\pm 0.3\mathrm{kW}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$). The deduced thermal fracture stress for ceramic was $386\pm 50\mathrm{MPa}$, which is 64% higher than that of the crystals ($235\pm 16\mathrm{MPa}$).

© 2014 Optical Society of America

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