Comment on: Investigation of the thermal lens effect of the TGG crystal in high-power frequency-doubled laser with single frequency operation

In their article, the authors of [Opt. Express 23, 4981 (2015)] observe step-like behavior and hysteresis of the output power of a diode-end-pumped Nd:YVO 4-laser as a function of pump power. While claiming that this behavior is a proof of thermal lensing in the intra-cavity TGG, no direct evidence is given. We will discuss here the validity of their statement, and propose an experimental proof.