Evolution of the Raman beam quality in a folded-coupled-cavity Nd:YVO₄/YVO₄ Raman laser

An end-pumped actively $Q$Q-switched ${\rm Nd}\!:\!{{\rm YVO}_4}/{{\rm YVO}_4}$Nd:YVO₄/YVO₄ Raman laser with a folded coupled cavity is demonstrated to study the evolution of Raman beam quality. The theoretical mechanism of the beam cleanup effect of stimulated Raman scattering is analyzed. The beam quality ($M^2$M²) of the Raman beam and the fundamental beams before and after the Raman conversion are measured experimentally. The results show that with the incident pump power increasing, the ${M^2}$M² of the fundamental beam increases from 1.85 to 3.08, while the ${M^2}$M² of the Raman beam increases from 1.21 to 1.69. The beam quality of the Raman laser and its degradation are better than that of the fundamental laser.