Thermally Induced Beam Distortions in Sesquioxide Laser Ceramics of m3 Crystal Class—Part I

A new method for calculating thermally induced phase distortions in laser ceramics is proposed. The depolarization degree as well as mean and dispersion of the phase incursion of a laser beam after passing through one ceramic element and at the output of the scheme with compensation of birefringence have been calculated. The specificity of photoelastic properties of 23 and m3 crystal classes has been taken into consideration. The results of the computations will be used for calculating parameters of beam quality in Part II of this paper.