Spectral broadening of the laser spectrum of gain-switched Ti:sapphire laser with nonlinear absorbers

Summary form only given. Broadband operation of a gain-switched Ti:sapphire laser with good beam quality is presented as a function of resonator and pump parameters. This new light source links low temporal coherence and high spatial coherence and can be used as a suitable and simple light source in optical coherence radar measurements. This method is based on white-light interferometry and allows the measurement of the shape and the roughness of optical rough three-dimensional objects without contact or destruction. Conventional light sources like superluminescent diodes or lamps provide too low brightness for large or dark objects in optical coherence radar measurements. Fast tunable lasers or mode-locked lasers are too complex and expensive to be applied in commercial devices for this application. Therefore we set up this simple laser, which emits a broad emission spectrum with high beam quality and high output power.