Patent ID: 8837541

Claim:
An optical laser structure, comprising: a first laser crystal configured to be an optical active medium of a first solid state laser, wherein the first laser crystal has a first coefficient of thermal expansion; and at least one clad structure that is directly cladded at least a portion of an outside surface of the first laser crystal, wherein the at least one clad structure has a second coefficient of thermal expansion which is sufficiently configured to match the first coefficient of thermal expansion of the first laser crystal of the first solid state laser, wherein the at least one clad structure is sufficiently configured to thermally insulate the first laser crystal from a coolant of the first solid state laser when the first laser crystal is heated to a temperature above a coolant temperature of the coolant, and wherein the at least one clad structure is sufficiently transparent such that a light passes, in sufficiently unchanged form, through the at least one protective structure to pump the first laser crystal; and wherein having the at least one clad structure increases an energy of at least one laser beam generated by the optical laser structure of the first solid state laser when the first laser crystal is heated to the temperature above the coolant temperature of the coolant.