Correcting the influence of the size effect on the estimate of the radiation strength of the surface of laser glass

摘要

This paper presents the results of a statistical analysis of tests of neodymium glass KGSS-0180 on the radiation strength of the surface. A technique is proposed for determining the limitations on the allowable radiation-energy density in the active elements of laser systems, based on a calculation of the first order statistic of a variational series of data on the breakdown thresholds of the glass. This technique makes it possible to solve the problem of indeterminacy in the choice of the allowable radiation-energy density, caused by the existence of the size effect-i.e., the dependence of the measured breakdown threshold on the irradiation-spot diameter. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America.