Author_Institution :
Endeavour Laser Technol., Hathorne, MA, USA
Abstract :
Passively Q-switched, diode pumped, all solid-state lasers are an elegant, yet simple, means to generate single-frequency laser pulses in the nanosecond and sub-nanosecond regions. The majority of the work on these systems has been in the 1-μm region, but recent developments at eye-safe and mid-infrared wavelengths of both diode-pumped lasers and solid-state saturable absorbers will probably lead to practical, passively Q-switched lasers at longer wavelengths. However, longer wavelength material properties are expected to only allow the generation of longer duration pulses. In the 1-μm region, near-term advances are anticipated in the development of higher average power systems operating at multikilohertz pulse rates, with pulse energies exceeding 1 mJ and corresponding improvements at second, third, fourth, and even fifth harmonic wavelengths.
Keywords :
Q-switching; optical pumping; optical saturable absorption; solid lasers; 1 micron; diode-pumped lasers; eye-safe wavelengths; harmonic wavelengths; mid-infrared wavelengths; multikilohertz pulse rates; nanosecond regions; passively Q-switched lasers; power systems; pulse energies; saturable absorbers; single-frequency laser pulses; solid-state lasers; sub-nanosecond regions; Altimetry; Laser modes; Lasers and electrooptics; Local oscillators; NASA; Optical pulse generation; Optical pulses; Pulse measurements; Pump lasers; Surface emitting lasers;
