Amplifier for a Q-switched solid-state diode pumped laser operating at 0.946 /spl mu/m

Author

Axenson, T.J. ; Barnes, N.P. ; Reichle, D.J.

Author_Institution

Sci. & Technol. Corp., Hampton, VA, USA

fYear

2002

fDate

24-24 May 2002

Abstract

Summary form only given. Previously we obtained >75 mJ Q-switched energy at 0.946 /spl mu/m in an all solid state diode system using Nd:YAG. This transition is extremely useful to the remote sensing community, considering the presence of strong atmospheric water vapor absorption lines in this region. In order to obtain the higher energies that are necessary for such measurements, we have built an amplifier for our laser. The amplifier module is identical to the modules used in our resonator - a 30 bar stacked laser diode array is used to end pump the laser crystal through a lens duct, allowing double pass gain. A variety of experiments were performed to characterize the amplifier and the experimental data was compared with a quasi-4-level amplifier model with spatially varying stored energy.

Keywords

Q-switching; laser transitions; optical pumping; semiconductor laser arrays; solid lasers; 0.946 micron; 30 bar stacked laser diode array; 75 mJ; Nd:YAG; Q-switched solid-state diode pumped laser; YAG:Nd; YAl5O12:Nd; amplifier module; double pass gain; end pumping; higher energies; lens duct; quasi-4-level amplifier model; remote sensing community; resonator; spatially varying stored energy; strong atmospheric water vapor absorption lines; Absorption; Atmospheric measurements; Diodes; Laser excitation; Laser transitions; Pump lasers; Remote sensing; Semiconductor laser arrays; Solid lasers; Solid state circuits;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Lasers and Electro-Optics, 2002. CLEO '02. Technical Digest. Summaries of Papers Presented at the

Conference_Location

Long Beach, CA, USA

Print_ISBN

1-55752-706-7

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/CLEO.2002.1034266

Filename

1034266