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MAROUA REGUIG1,2, SAID MEHELLOU1,2,* , RABEH BOUTAKA3, HAMZA ADAIKA1
Solar-pumped lasers (SPLs) rely primarily on solar energy without the need for electrical power, which directly converts sunlight into laser. In this work, three end-side-pumping configurations were numerically investigated using a Ring-Array Concentrator (RAC) with an effective collection area of 0.785 m². The first configuration employed a single Nd:YAG rod (4 mm diameter, 16 mm length), achieving a collection efficiency (CE) of 49.1 W/m², a solar-to-laser conversion efficiency (SLCE) of 4.9%, and a slope efficiency of 6.1% under 1000 W/m² solar irradiance. However, thermal stress reached 182.5 N/mm², close to the fracture limit. To overcome this, a second configuration using four thin Nd:YAG rods (2 mm diameter, 16 mm length each) was designed, distributing the concentrated solar energy among four rods. This configuration achieved a total laser power of 43.9 W (CE = 55.9 W/m², SLCE = 5.59%, slope efficiency = 6.45%), while significantly reducing thermal stress to 44.92 N/mm² and maximum temperature to 326.6 K. Finally, to maximize efficiency, the active material was replaced with Ce:Nd:YAG (0.1 at. % Ce, 1.1 at.% Nd) while maintaining the same four-rod geometry. Under 890 W/m² solar irradiance, this configuration produced a record total laser power of 56.4 W (14.1 W per rod), corresponding to a CE of 71.3 W/m², an SLCE of 8.09%, and a slope efficiency of 9.33%, which are 1.73, 1.74, and 1.22 times higher, respectively, than the previous records by Liang et al. (41.25 W/m² and 4.64%) using three Ce:Nd:YAG rods. Thermal stress remained within safe limits at 75.79 N/mm². These results demonstrate that the four-thin-rod Ce:Nd:YAG configuration with an RAC concentrator offers an optimal balance between high efficiency and acceptable thermal stress, providing a practical and scalable solution for high-power solar lasers.
Solar concentrator design, End-side pumping, Ring-Array Concentrator (RAC), Laser efficiency, Nd:YAG, Ce:Nd:YAG, multi-rod, Thermal effects.
MAROUA REGUIG, SAID MEHELLOU, RABEH BOUTAKA, HAMZA ADAIKA, Numerical analysis of a four-rod Ce:Nd:YAG solar laser with 8.09% conversion efficiency, Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials - Rapid Communications, 20, 7-8, July-August 2026, pp.305-318 (2026).
Submitted at: Nov. 5, 2025
Accepted at: Aug. 3, 2026
Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials - Rapid Communications
(2025): Impact Factor = 0.5 - Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2026)
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