High-power quasi-cw YAG:Nd laser and its use in surface hardening of steel 45

Quasi-cw YAG:Nd lasers with interchangeable components and average output powers up to 0.5 and 1.0 kW, respectively, were constructed. Experiments on surface hardening of steel 45 demonstrated that these lasers were as effective as a cw CO₂ laser emitting twice the output power.