Title :
160 mJ cryogenic Ho:YLF laser with unstable resonator
Author :
Fonnum, Helge ; Lippert, Espen ; Arisholm, Gunnar ; Stenersen, Knut
Author_Institution :
Forsvarets Forskningsinstitutt, Kjeller, Norway
Abstract :
The properties of Ho:YAG for high energy operation improve dramatically at low temperatures, and we have exploited this effect in a cryogenically cooled Ho:YLF laser for high pulse energies at 2 μm. The laser is pumped by 60 W from a Tm-fiber laser emitting at 1940 nm. In low repetition rate Q-switched operation we are able to generate 160 mJ at 2.05 μm from 10 ms pump pulses, with a slope efficiency of 43 %, and a considerable scaling potential.
Keywords :
Q-switching; cryogenics; fibre lasers; holmium; optical pumping; optical resonators; thulium; Ho:YAG properties; Q-switched operation; Tm; Tm-fiber laser; YAG:Ho; YLF:Ho; cryogenically cooled Ho:YLF laser; energy 160 mJ; high pulse energies; laser pumping; time 10 ms; unstable resonator; wavelength 1940 nm; wavelength 2 mum; Cooling; Cryogenics; Fiber lasers; Laser excitation; Measurement by laser beam; Optical resonators; Pump lasers;
Conference_Titel :
Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO), 2012 Conference on
Conference_Location :
San Jose, CA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4673-1839-6
