A current shunt actuator has been used to stabilize the intensity of a 10 W cw Nd3+:YAG laser. The current shunt developed exhibited a better actuator response than the pump diode current adjust actuator provided with the laser. Using the current shunt actuator, the relative intensity noise was suppressed from similar to 10(-5)1 / root Hz to below similar to5 x 10(-7)1 / root Hz. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.