End pumped Nd:YAG zigzag slab laser with weak pump absorption

A diode-pumped Nd:YAG oscillator laser with an end-pumped zigzag slab architecture and weak pump absorption is developed. An output power of 253 W with a slope efficiency of 50.2% and an optical-optical conversion efficiency of 39.6% is achieved from the resonator, which emits the maximum power of 290 W with 840-W pump power. An optimum laser diode (LD) array coolant temperature is chosen in an attempt to realize the weak but uniform pump absorption. Furthermore, we have confirmed that the perfo