Title :
Tunable Cr4+:YSO Q-switched Cr:LiCAF laser
Author :
Kuo, Yen-Kuang ; Huang, Man-fang ; Birnbaum, M.
Author_Institution :
Center for Laser Studies, Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
fDate :
4/1/1995 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Tunable passive Q-switching (781 nm to 806 nm at 300 K) of a flash-lamp pumped Cr3+:LiCaAlF6 (Cr:LiCAF) laser with a Cr4+:Y2SiO5 (Cr4+:YSO) broad-band solid-state saturable absorber has been realized. Typical pulse widths of the Q-switched laser output ranged from 40 ns to 80 ns, depending on the lasing wavelength. Spectral narrowing and reduced beam diameter with the use of the saturable absorber were observed. The ground state and the excited state absorption cross sections of the Cr4+:YSO absorber were found by bleaching experiments to be (7.0±1.4)×10-19 cm2 and (2.3±0.5)×10-19 cm2 at 694 nm, respectively. Numerical simulation was utilized to simulate the Cr:LiCAF passive Q-switching with Cr4+ :YSO solid-state saturable absorber
Keywords :
aluminium compounds; calcium compounds; chromium; excited states; flash lamps; laser tuning; lithium compounds; optical pumping; optical saturable absorption; solid lasers; yttrium compounds; 300 K; 40 to 80 ns; 694 nm; 781 to 806 nm; Cr:LiCAF laser; Cr:LiCAF passive Q-switching; Cr3+:LiCaAlF6; Cr4+:Y2SiO5 broad-band solid-state saturable absorber; Cr4+:YSO solid-state saturable absorber; LiCaAlF6:Cr; Q-switched laser output; Y2SiO5:Cr; bleaching experiments; excited state absorption cross sections; flash-lamp pumped; ground state; lasing wavelength; numerical simulation; pulse widths; reduced beam diameter; spectral narrowing; tunable Cr4+:YSO Q-switched Cr:LiCAF laser; tunable passive Q-switching; Chromium; Laser beams; Laser excitation; Optical pulses; Pump lasers; Solid lasers; Solid state circuits; Space vector pulse width modulation; Stationary state; Tunable circuits and devices;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
