Study of the mechanical properties of Nd:YVO4 crystal by use of laser interferometry and finite-element analysis

A hybrid method that combines experimental and numerical approaches for determining the material properties of Nd:YVO4 is reported. In the experimental investigations a laser interferometer is proposed for measuring the physical deformation of lasing materials at the end-pump surface. By matching wi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied optics (2004) 2001-03, Vol.40 (9), p.1396-1403
Main Authors: Peng, X, Asundi, A, Chen, Y, Xiong, Z
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A hybrid method that combines experimental and numerical approaches for determining the material properties of Nd:YVO4 is reported. In the experimental investigations a laser interferometer is proposed for measuring the physical deformation of lasing materials at the end-pump surface. By matching with the measured end bulging, we have implemented a numerical solution with finite-element analyses to determine the Poisson ratio and Young's modulus of the crystal. The accuracy interval of the evaluated Poisson ratio of 0.33 and Young's modulus of 133 GPa is discussed numerically. Based on the mechanical properties obtained, the end effect is separated from thermal effects, and it shows that the end effect results in an approximate equal thermal lensing effect compared with the index parts for end-pumped Nd:YVO4 lasers.
ISSN:1559-128X
DOI:10.1364/AO.40.001396