Tailoring the absorption distribution in lamp-pumped solid-state lasers with fused silica light-guides

An analysis is made on the absorption distribution within a cylindrical active medium lamp pumped by means of fused silica light-guides. The performances of the proposed pump cavities are analysed through a non-sequential 3D ray-trace program and are compared to those of three reflective chambers: an elliptical cavity, a close-coupled cavity and a diffusive close-wrap cavity. Two light-guides cavities with eight and nine guides, respectively, were built and tested. High coupling efficiency and a reasonable uniform absorption distribution were registered. An overall laser efficiency of 1% was measured. The proposed cavities have permitted the tailoring of the absorption distribution within the laser rod.