Abstract:
An attempt was made to compensate the thermal deformation of the active element of a laser by deliberate optical distortions counteracting the thermo-optic distortions induced during laser operation. It was found that a special heat treatment of the active element compensated both the optical inhomogeneity and anisotropy in a certain range of pumping powers, which imposed additional requirements on the thermooptic properties of the active material. Moreover, this heat treatment increased fourfold or fivefold the thermal stability of the active element.