Numerical investigation into the Nd doped YAG rod grooving impact on the sunlight-pumped-laser performance

This paper presents a numerical analysis of the impact of grooving the Nd doped YAG rod on the sunlight-pumped lasers performance. The study analyzes laser systems that utilize side-exciting and end-side-exciting approaches to activate both grooved and non-grooved Nd doped YAG laser rods. The effects of the rod surface groove on the performance of the sunlight-pumped-lasers are thoroughly examined using ZEMAX© and LASCAD© software. To excite the grooved and non-grooved Nd doped YAG rods alternately, a ring-array sunlight flux concentrator is employed. Moreover, in the side-exciting technique, the head of the laser system contains a rectangular light guide of an extremely transparent glass made from fusing silica and an excitation cavity with a V-shaped configuration, housing the Nd doped YAG rod. This exciting method with a grooved laser rod resulted in a 13.70% increase in laser power and a 28.20% reduction in stress intensity compared to the non-grooved rod. In the end-side-exciting technique, the head of the laser system comprises an aspheric lens made of a fused silica glass and a conical-shaped excitation cavity, accommodating the Nd doped YAG rod. Results indicate that using grooved laser rod in this exciting system did not lead to an amelioration in output laser power. However, this technique enhanced the stress intensity by a reduction of 35.03%.