Active cavity stabilization for high energy thin disk regenerative amplifier

We present an active cavity pointing stabilization system based on a novel method that tracks the cavity mode position directly on the thin disk gain medium itself. Here, the overlap of the lasing cavity with the pump, visible as a depletion within the pumped area, is most crucial to the stability of the laser. Short term stability as well as long term stability are significantly increased enabling day long operation, directly from a cold start of the laser system, without the need for thermalization and manual alignment.