Thermal analysis of rectangular Nd : YVO4 crystal by laser diode side-pumped

Based on analytical theory, the temperature field and the pumped-face thermal distortion of a rectangular Nd : YVO4 laser crystal side-pumped by a diode laser with Gaussian distribution were investigated. By analyzing the working characteristics of the laser diode (LD) side-pumped crystal, thermal physical model according with actual working conditions was built, the general expressions of temperature field and thermal distortion field of rectangular Nd : YVO4 crystal were obtained by using a new solution in heat conduction equation of orthogonal anisotropic material. Two methods of effectively reducing thermal distortion were presented. The research results showed that the maximum temperature rise of 240.0°C and the maximum thermal distortion of 4.73 μm can be obtained in the center of the pump side-surface when the output power of the diode laser is 30 W. If eccentric pump center is 0.6 mm, the maximum thermal distortion is reduced by 31.3%. And if the thickness of crystal is reduced by 30%, the maximum thermal distortion is reduced by 23.5%.