BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS: Continuous-wave lasing of YAG:Nd3+ with an output power of 500 W

An investigation was made of the lasing characteristics of YAG:Nd active elements of large dimensions (diameter 8 mm, length 125 mm) operating continuously. When the pump power was 7.0 kW, the output power of multimode radiation was 360 W and the efficiency was in excess of 5%. The differential efficiency exceeded 7%. When two active elements were brought into contact in a common symmetric resonator, formed by plane mirrors, the output power was 515 W when the pump power was 12.4 kW.