Title :
Nd-glass burst laser with kW average power output
Author :
Walters, C.T. ; Dulaney, J.L. ; Campbell, B.E. ; Epstein, H.M.
Author_Institution :
Battelle, Columbus, OH, USA
fDate :
2/1/1995 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Demonstrations of operation of a compact neodymium glass laser with average output powers greater than 1 kW for several seconds are reported. The laser is based on the thermal inertia laser (TIL) concept wherein a neodymium-doped glass rod is pumped uniformly without cooling during a burst mode of laser operation. Design principles for TIL devices and scaling to 100 kW class lasers are discussed. Experimental results for a low repetition-rate proof-of-concept pulsed device (30 J, 0.2 Hz) and a high repetition-rate pulsed prototype (40 J, 36 Hz) are presented and compared to numerical solutions for the laser rate equations with temperature dependent cross-sections
Keywords :
neodymium; solid lasers; 0.2 Hz; 1 kW; 30 J; 36 Hz; 40 J; burst laser; compact laser; design; neodymium-doped glass rod; output power; pulsed device; pumping; rate equations; repetition-rate; scaling; temperature dependent cross-sections; thermal inertia laser; Cooling; Glass; Laser excitation; Laser modes; Neodymium; Optical design; Optical pulses; Power generation; Power lasers; Pump lasers;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
