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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
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
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
A frequency stabilization scheme following the Pound-Drever-Hall technique modified with a sample and hold circuit has been applied to a Q-switched diode-pumped Nd:YAG ring oscillator. The high-power ring is injection seeded by a monolithic non-planar ring laser oscillator (NPRO). The slave oscillator emits pulses of 23 ns duration and 20 mJ pulse energy with almost diffraction limited beam quality (M-2 = 1.2) at a repetition rate of 400 Hz. The short-term fluctuation of the center frequency from pulse to pulse is 290 kHz. The oscillator is designed for applications within lidar measurements.
In side pumped laser head geometries good extraction of energy has to be weighted against diffraction effects of the amplified beam. Beam clipping at the aperture of laser rods can be avoided by using an undoped cladding around the doped core. The wings of e. g. Gaussian beams can be accommodated in the cladding. Phase distortion by the refractive index step of the rod can be compensated by a phase conjugating mirror in double pass configuration. In our proof of principle experiment the brightness of the beam from core doped amplifier rods was shown to be doubled compared to a conventional rod of the same outer diameter. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America
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