Abstract: A laser clamping system for a disc laser medium that includes two heat conductive members (one of which is optically transparent) positioned on either side of a disc laser. Pressure is applied to the conductive members to restrain the disc from deforming under pumping conditions to reduce the lensing effect. Thin disc geometry allows the thermal load of laser material to be much closer to the heat conductive members so that heat dissipation is generally more efficient than that of other geometric configurations (e.g. rod or slab). In disc lasers each part of the laser beam experiences the same temperature gradient so that there is no lensing effect caused by radial temperature distribution. It has been discovered that any resulting lensing effect is disc lasers is mainly from the thermo-mechanical deformation of the disc itself.

Abstract: An apparatus for maintaining the temperature stability of an amplifier system comprises a device for heating, cooling or heating an cooling one or more sub-assemblies of the amplifier system, a temperature sensor for detecting variations in temperature of a sub-assembly, and a controller operably connecting the two. The signal from the sensor is used by the controller to adjust the amount of heating, cooling, or heating and cooling of a sub-assembly in order to maintain its temperature within a range sufficiently small to ensure stable performance.