@article{OstermeyerKappeMenzeletal.2005,
  author    = {Ostermeyer, Martin and Kappe, Philip and Menzel, Ralf and Wulfmeyer, Volker},
  title     = {Diode-pumped Nd : YAG master oscillator power amplifier with high pulse energy, excellent beam quality, and frequency-stabilized master oscillator as a basis for a next-generation lidar system},
  issn      = {0003-6935},
  year      = {2005},
  abstract  = {In the original publication [Ostermeyer et al., Appl. Opt., 44, 582-590 (2005)], Fig. 5 appeared twice as Figs. 4 and 5. This inaccuracy is corrected here. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KappeOstermeyerMenzel2005,
  author    = {Kappe, Philip and Ostermeyer, Martin and Menzel, Ralf},
  title     = {Active mode locking of a phase-conjugating SBS-laser oscillator},
  issn      = {0946-2171},
  year      = {2005},
  abstract  = {We present a flashlamp-pumped Nd: YAG laser simultaneously emitting pulse structures on microsecond, nanosecond and picosecond time scales. Within a microsecond flashlamp pump pulse a nonlinear reflector based on stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) generates several Q-switch pulses. The phase-conjugating effect of the SBS reflector provides a compensation of phase distortions generated inside the laser rod, resulting in transverse fundamental mode operation. Additional acousto-optic loss modulation inside the resonator leads to mode locking. As a result, each Q-switch pulse is subdivided into several picosecond pulses. Energies of up to 2 mJ for the mode-locked pulses with durations between 220 and 800 ps are demonstrated. The wide variability of the laser's temporal output parameters as well as its high beam quality make it a splendid tool for fundamental research in laser materials processing},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KappeOstermeyerMenzel2005,
  author    = {Kappe, Philip and Ostermeyer, Martin and Menzel, Ralf},
  title     = {Active mode locking of a phase-conjugating SBS-laser oscillator},
  issn      = {0946-2171},
  year      = {2005},
  language  = {en}
}
@book{OstermeyerKappeMenzeletal.2005,
  author    = {Ostermeyer, Martin and Kappe, Philip and Menzel, Ralf and Sommer, S. and Dausinger, Friedrich},
  title     = {Laser drilling in thin materials with bursts of ns-pulses generated by stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS)},
  year      = {2005},
  abstract  = {A passively Q-switched laser with a nonlinear mirror on the basis of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), generates bursts of pulses with a few 10 ns pulse duration and a separation between 20-90 mu s. Percussion drilling and trepanning are performed in different materials with 1 mm thickness. The optimum parameter set of these pulse trains with regard to the burr height and ablation rate is investigated. Differences in the processing results between single pulse and multi pulse structures are discussed. In addition the laser allowed for transiently mode locked operation. Results for mode locked and merely Q-switched operation were compared},
  language  = {en}
}
@book{OstermeyerKappeMenzeletal.2005,
  author    = {Ostermeyer, Martin and Kappe, Philip and Menzel, Ralf and Wulfmeyer, Volker},
  title     = {Diode-pumped Nd : YAG master oscillator power amplifier with high pulse energy, excellent beam quality, and frequency-stabilized master oscillator as a basis for a next-generation lidar system},
  year      = {2005},
  abstract  = {A pulsed, diode-laser-pumped Nd:YAG master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) in rod geometry, frequency stabilized with a modified Pound-Drever-Hall scheme is presented. The apparatus delivers 33-ns pulses with a maximum pulse energy of 0.5 J at 1064 nm. The system was set up in two different configurations for repetition rates of 100 or 250 Hz. The beam quality was measured to be 1.5 times the diffraction limit at a pulse energy of 405 mJ and a repetition rate of 100 Hz. At 250 Hz with the same pulse energy, the M-2 was better than 2.1. The radiation is frequency converted with an efficiency of 50\% to 532 nm. This MOPA system will be the pump laser of transmitters for a variety of high-end, scanning lidar systems. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Kappe2006,
  author    = {Kappe, Philip},
  title     = {Design and investigation of the emission dynamics of a mode-locked SBS-laser oscillator},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-11514},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  year      = {2006},
  abstract  = {The primary objective of this work was to develop a laser source for fundamental investigations in the field of laser - materials interactions. In particular it is supposed to facilitate the study of the influence of the temporal energy distribution such as the interaction between adjacent pulses on ablation processes. Therefore, the aim was to design a laser with a highly flexible and easily controllable temporal energy distribution. The laser to meet these demands is an SBS-laser with optional active mode-locking. The nonlinear reflectivity of the SBS-mirror leads to a passive Q-switching and issues ns-pulse bursts with µs spacing. The pulse train parameters such as pulse duration, pulse spacing, pulse energy and number of pulses within a burst can be individually adjusted by tuning the pump parameters and the starting conditions for the laser. Another feature of the SBS-reflection is phase conjugation, which leads to an excellent beam quality thanks to the compensation of phase distortions. Transverse fundamental mode operation and a beam quality better than 1.4 times diffraction limited can be maintained for average output powers of up to 10 W. In addition to the dynamics on a ns-timescale described above, a defined splitting up of each ns-pulse into a train of ps-pulses can be achieved by additional active mode-locking. This twofold temporal focussing of the intensity leads to single pulse energies of up to 2 mJ at pulse durations of approximately 400 ps which corresponds to a pulse peak power of 5 MW. While the pulse duration is of the same order of magnitude as those of other passively Q-switched lasers with simultaneous mode-locking, the pulse energy and pulse peak power exceeds the values of these systems found in the literature by an order of magnitude. To the best of my knowledge the laser presented here is the first implementation of a self-starting mode-locked SBS-laser oscillator. In order to gain a better understanding and control of the transient output of the laser two complementary numerical models were developed. The first is based on laser rate equations which are solved for each laser mode individually while the mode-locking dynamics are calculated from the resultant transient spectrum. The rate equations consider the mean photon densities in the resonator, therefore the propagation of the light inside the resonator is not properly displayed. The second model, in contrast, introduces a spatial resolution of the resonator and hence the propagation inside the resonator can more accurately be considered. Consequently, a mismatch between the loss modulation frequency and the resonator round trip time can be conceived. The model calculates all dynamics in the time domain and therefore the spectral influences such as the Stokes-shift have to be neglected. Both models achieve an excellent reproduction of the ns-dynamics that are generated by the SBS-Q-switch. Separately, each model fails to reproduce all aspects of the ps-dynamics of the SBS-laser in detail. This can be attributed to the complexity of the numerous physical processes involved in this system. But thanks to their complementary nature they provide a very useful tool for investigating the various influences on the dynamics of the mode-locked SBS-laser individually. These aspects can eventually be recomposed to give a complete picture of the mechanisms which govern the output dynamics. Among the aspects under scrutiny were in particular the start resonator quality which determines the starting condition for the SBS-Q-switch, the modulation depth of the AOM and the phonon lifetime as well as the Brillouin-frequency of the SBS-medium. The numerical simulations and the experiments have opened several doors inviting further investigations and promising a potential for further improvement of the experimental results: The results of the simulations in combination with the experimental results which determined the starting conditions for the simulations leave no doubt that the bandwidth generation can primarily be attributed to the SBS-Stokes-shift during the buildup of the Q-switch pulse. For each resonator round trip, bandwidth is generated by shifting a part of the revolving light in frequency. The magnitude of the frequency shift corresponds to the Brillouin-frequency which is a constant of the SBS material and amounts in the case of SF6 to 240 MHz. The modulation of the AOM merely provides an exchange of population between spectrally adjacent modes and therefore diminishes a modulation in the spectrum. By use of a material with a Brillouin-frequency in the GHz range the bandwidth generation can be considerably accelerated thereby shortening the pulse duration. Also, it was demonstrated that yet another nonlinear effect of the SBS can be exploited: If the phonon lifetime is short compared to the resonator round trip time we obtain a modulation in the SBS-reflectivity that supports the modulation of the AOM. The application of an external optical feedback by a conventional mirror turns out to be an alternative to the AOM in synchronizing the longitudinal resonator modes. The interesting feature about this system is that it is ― although highly complex in the physical processes and the temporal output dynamics ― very simple and inexpensive from a technical point of view. No expensive modulators and no control electronics are necessary. Finally, the numerical models constitute a powerful tool for the investigation of emission dynamics of complex laser systems on arbitrary timescales and can also display the spectral evolution of the laser output. In particular it could be demonstrated that differences in the results of the complementary models vanish for systems of lesser complexity.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KappeMenzelOstermeyer2006,
  author    = {Kappe, Philip and Menzel, Ralf and Ostermeyer, Martin},
  title     = {Analysis of the temporal and spectral output properties of a mode-locked and Q-switched laser oscillator with a nonlinear mirror based on stimulated Brillouin scattering},
  issn      = {1050-2947},
  doi       = {10.1103/Physreva.74.013809},
  year      = {2006},
  abstract  = {The emission dynamics of a mode-locked laser oscillator with a nonlinear mirror based on stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) has been investigated with regard to its spectrum and to its intensity distribution. The investigation was carried out experimentally as well as by numerical simulations. The laser yields trains of pulses with measured durations of 410 ps and energies of the single pulse of up to 2 mJ. Two theoretical models describing the complex emission dynamics of a mode-locked SBS-laser oscillator are introduced. The first model consists of spectrally resolved laser rate equations and thus describes the mode locking in the frequency domain by the superposition of the longitudinal resonator modes. The SBS-Q-switch is incorporated by a phenomenological description of the time dependent SBS reflectivity. Numerical simulations based on this model yield the evolution of a few 100 longitudinal laser modes and the corresponding intensity distribution during the course of a Q-switch pulse with 10-ps resolution. The influences of the different components on the spectrum and thus on the pulse duration will be discussed. The second model describes all occurring dynamics in the time domain providing easy access to the study of misalignment on the output dynamics. Results of numerical simulations of both models and measurement results are compared},
  language  = {en}
}