Compensation of dynamic thermal deformations of mirrors in high-power slab lasers

A system of compensation of thermal deformations of resonator mirrors in high-power CO₂ slab lasers based on profiled heating of the mirror back surface is studied theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that such a heating of a resonator mirror makes it possible to minimise dynamic distortions of the output-beam wave front in the case when the lasing power can be varied.