Repetition-rate dependence of thermal loading in diode-end-pumped Q-switched lasers: influence of energy-transfer upconversion

The fractional thermal loading in diode-end-pumped Q-switched lasers was estimated from the theory of cavity stability. The experimental results show that the thermal loading depends on the pulse-repetition rate. This dependence is attributed to the effect of energy-transfer upconversion (ETU). A theoretical model including the ETU effect was developed to analyze the fractional thermal loading in end-pumped Q-switched lasers. The theoretical predictions were found to be in good agreement with the experimental data.