Monolithic solid state laser assembly and method of manufacture

A small high power pulsed laser subassembly for use with a gas discharge or similar high power pump means for emitting photons at a first wavelength;

• comprising:
• a thin pallet with a broad flat substantially rectangular bottom surface, a broad top surface defining a straight optical axis parallel within ten arc seconds to the longitudinal centerline on both of said surfaces, said pallet further having a uniform cross-section normal to said axis, whereby said axis is normally spaced a constant given distance from said top surface;
• long and short laser rods of the same nonconductive crystalline material, which emits photons of a second wavelength in response to said pump photons, said rods having a combined length less than the length of said pallet, a central longitudinal axis on said optical axis, uniform cross-sections with maximum dimensions approximately an order of magnitude smaller than the length of said long rod, first and second long rod plus third and fourth short rod axially sequential end-faces chosen from a group of surfaces comprising flat surfaces and convex surfaces with a radius of curvature centered on said axis that is longer than two meters, said end-faces being centered normal to said axis within thirty arc seconds and said rods further having side-faces of uniform width extending the full length of said rods, parallel within thirty arc seconds to said axis and normally spaced said given distance from said axis, thereby abutting a mating portion of said top surface with said same uniform width, but extending the full length of said pallet;
• a highly reflective mirror coated on said first end-face that reflects substantially all of said beam photons impinging thereon toward said fourth end-face;
• an output coupling mirror means having opposed surfaces parallel to said fourth end-face, permanently attached to said short rod over said fourth end-face, said output mirror means including a reflective layer for passing a small percentage of said beam photons while reflecting the remainder toward said first end-face;
• and
• an adherence layer applied between said side-faces and said mating portions which acts briefly as a lubricant before hardening.