Title :
Efficient second harmonic conversion of broad-band high-peak-power Nd:glass laser radiation using large-aperture KDP crystals in quadrature
Author :
Pronko, Mark S. ; Lehmberg, Robert H. ; Obenschain, S. ; Pawley, Carl J. ; Manka, Charles K. ; Eckardt, R.
Author_Institution :
US Naval Res. Lab., Washington, DC, USA
fDate :
2/1/1990 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The authors have investigated the second-harmonic conversion efficiency of broadband Nd:glass laser light (Δν/c<30 cm-1 FWHM). Using two KDP crystals in a quadrature arrangement, they obtain energy conversion efficiencies of ≈55% with an initial bandwidth for the fundamental of Δν/c≈17 cm-1 FWHM. For these conditions, a modest increase (≈70%) was observed in the harmonic bandwidth (FWHM) relative to the fundamental. The usual theory of three-wave mixing in dispersive birefringent nonlinear crystals is extended to describe the broadband harmonic conversion process; the generalized theory includes the statistical properties of the light and phase mismatch effects on the spectral components in the complex field amplitudes. Good agreement is found between the code calculations and the measurements
Keywords :
birefringence; laser beams; optical dispersion; optical frequency conversion; potassium compounds; spectral line breadth; 55 percent; KDP; KH2PO4; Nd:glass laser radiation; broad-band high-peak-power; complex field amplitudes; conversion efficiency; dispersive birefringent nonlinear crystals; energy conversion efficiencies; fundamental; harmonic bandwidth; initial bandwidth; large-aperture KDP crystals; phase mismatch effects; quadrature; second harmonic conversion; spectral components; statistical properties; three-wave mixing; Bandwidth; Birefringence; Crystals; Dispersion; Energy conversion; Glass; Gold; Laboratories; Laser ablation; Laser fusion; Laser modes; Laser theory; Neodymium;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
