Acousto-optic Q-switched self-frequency-doubling Er:Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 laser at 800 nm

Actively Q-switched self-frequency-doubling laser at 800 nm was first reported in an Er:Yb:YAl3(BO3)4 crystal by using an acousto-optical modulator. At incident pump power of 16 W and pulse repetition frequency of 1 kHz, 1600 nm fundamental pulse laser with energy of 130 μJ and width of 170 ns, and self-frequency-doubling 800 nm pulse laser with energy of 20 μJ and width of 96 ns were respectively achieved in a hemispherical resonator end-pumped by a 970 nm laser diode. Pulse characteristics of fundamental and self-frequency-doubling lasers at different pulse repetition frequencies were also investigated.     

Q-switched Yb 3+ :YVO 4 laser with Raman self-conversion

We report the efficient continuous-wave (CW) and Q-switched laser operation of a diode-pumped Yb:YVO₄ laser. A CW output power of 1 W with a slope efficiency of 59% with respect to absorbed pump power was demonstrated. Passively Q-switched with a Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber, a Yb:YVO₄ laser with Raman conversion was demonstrated. Q-switched 18.7- J pulses with a pulse duration of 17 ns and a peak power up to 1 kW were obtained at 1018-nm fundamental wavelength and 3.6- J pulses with a pulse duration of 6 ns and a peak power of about 0.6 kW were obtained at 1119.5-nm first-Stokes wavelength.This revised version was published online in March 2005. In the previous version, the published online date was missing     

微型化LD泵浦Er~(3+),Yb~(3+)共掺磷酸盐玻璃被动调Q激光器

报道了一种主要应用于激光测距的微型化激光二极管泵浦Er3+/Yb3+共掺磷酸盐玻璃被动调Q激光器。采用中心波长940nm的二极管作为泵浦源,Er3+/Yb3+共掺磷酸盐玻璃作为增益介质,Co2+:MgAl2O4作为被动调Q晶体,通过优化增益介质和被动调Q晶体参数,获得了最佳的增益介质长度和被动调Q晶体初始透过率。当泵浦能量14mJ,重复频率10Hz,泵浦脉宽5ms时,获得了单脉冲能量480μJ,脉宽5ns,峰值功率大于20kW的激光输出,激光光束质量因子为1.2。     

超短脉冲激光烧蚀石墨产生的喷射物的时间分辨发射光谱研究

本文使用不同激光能流(18 J/cm²–115 J/cm²)和脉冲宽度(50 fs–4 ps)的超短脉冲激光在真空中(4×10^-4 Pa)烧蚀高定向热解石墨. 通过测量烧蚀喷射物的时间分辨发射光谱研究喷射物的超快时间演化. 在喷射物发射光谱中, 观察到了C₂基团的天鹅带光谱系统, 416 nm附近C₁₅基团的由电子能级¹Σ_u⁺ 和¹Σ_g⁺之间的振动跃迁产生的光谱峰以及连续谱. 50 fs, 115 J/cm²的脉冲激光烧蚀产生的喷射物的连续谱的强度衰减分为快速下降和慢速下降两个阶段(以20 ns时间延迟为分界). 这表明连续谱是由两种不同的组分贡献的. 快速下降阶段, 连续谱主要由碳等离子体通过韧致辐射产生; 慢速下降阶段, 连续谱主要由烧蚀后期产生的大颗粒碳簇的热辐射贡献. 实验结果还揭示了激光能流的提高, 会明显增加喷射物中碳等离子体和激发态C₂的含量, 但对质量稍大的C₁₅的影响较小; 此外, 50 fs脉冲激光烧蚀产生的连续谱的存在时间会随着激光能流的减小而增大, 这说明低能流更有利于在烧蚀后期产生碳簇. 脉宽主要影响喷射物连续谱的时间演化. 4 ps脉冲激光烧蚀产生的连续谱的整个时间演化过程明显慢于50 fs脉冲产生的连续谱.     

1064nm纳秒激光脉冲激发的外腔式PbWO4拉曼激光器

研究了外腔式PbWO4拉曼激光器在纳秒脉冲抽运下的输出特性。利用主动调Q的Nd:YAG激光器产生的脉冲宽度为31.4ns,最大输出能量为200mJ的1064nm激光作为抽运源。拉曼激光谐振腔采用的是平凹腔设计。测量了输出的拉曼光脉宽与抽运能量的关系,分析了输出的拉曼光脉冲波形图和光谱图,测量了输出的拉曼光脉冲能量与抽运能量的关系,计算了转换效率与抽运能量的关系。当注入抽运光能量达到42mJ时,得到了一阶斯托克斯光脉冲的最大能量和转换效率分别为10mJ和24%,获得外腔式PbWO4拉曼激光器的一阶斯托克斯光脉冲波长为1177.6nm,典型的一阶斯托克斯光脉冲脉宽为20ns。     

Analysis of laser-diode end-pumped intracavity frequency-doubled,passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser

Simultaneous Q-switching and mode locking in a laser-diode end-pumped intracavity frequency-doubled Nd:YVO₄/KTP green laser using a Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber with 81% initial transmission is experimentally demonstrated. At an incident pump power of 6 W, 300 mW of average green power was obtained, which is around four times higher than the cw green power obtained without the Cr⁴⁺:YAG crystal. The repetition rate of the mode-locked green pulses was 400 MHz and the individual mode-locked pulse width was measured to be 500 ps. The repetition rate of the Q-sw itched envelope of the mode-locked pulses was 15 kHz at 6 W of incident pump power. The energy of the mode-locked pulse at the peak of the Q-sw itched envelope was estimated to be 1 J and the peak power was estimated to be 2.4 kW. The measured width and the total energy of the Q-sw itched envelope of the mode-locked pulses was 47 ns and 21 J, respectively, at the maximum incident pump power. An analysis of the system by incorporating a nonlinear loss term due to the intracavity second-harmonic generation to the general recurrence relation for the mode-locked pulses under the Q-sw itched envelope at the fundamental wavelength has been presented. Using a hyperbolic secant square function to model the mode-locked pulse, the temporal shape of a single Q-sw itched pulse at the second-harmonic wavelength has been reconstructed. The theoretical calculations of the pulse parameters like pulse energy, peak power, pulse width and pulse-symmetry factor have shown fairly good agreement with the experimental results. PACS 42.55.Rz; 42.55.Xi; 42.60.By     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:Lu<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>Y<Subscript>0.85</Subscript>VO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser with a GaAs saturable absorber

By using a-cut Nd:Lu_0.15Y_0.85VO₄ mixed crystal as laser gain medium, a diode-pumped passively Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) laser with a GaAs saturable absorber in a Z-type folded cavity is demonstrated for the first time. The Q-switched mode-locked laser pulses with about 90% modulation depth are obtained as long as the pump power reached the oscillation threshold. The repetition rate of the passively Q-switched pulse envelope ranges from 50 to 186 kHz as the pump power increases from 0.915 to 6.520 W. Under an incident pump power of 6.52 W, the QML pulses with the largest average output power of 694 mW, the shortest pulse width of 200 ns and the highest pulse energy of 3.73 μJ are obtained. The mode-locked pulse width inside the Q-switched envelope is estimated to be about 275 ps. The experimental results show that Nd:Lu_0.15Y_0.85VO₄ is a promising mixed crystal for QML laser.     

Dual wavelength Q-switched cascade laser

A diode-cladding-pumped dual wavelength Q-switched Ho3+-doped fluoride cascade fiber laser operating in the mid-infrared is demonstrated. Stable pulse trains from the (5)I6 → (5)I7 and (5)I7 → (5)I8 laser transitions were produced, and the μs-level time delay between the pulses from each transition was dependent on the pump power. At maximum pump power and at an acousto-optic modulator repetition rate of 25 kHz, the (5)I6 → (5)I7 transition pulse operated at 3.005 μm, a pulse energy of 29 μJ, and a pulse width of 380 ns; the (5)I7 → (5)I8 transition pulse correspondingly produced 7 μJ pulse energy and 260 ns pulse width at 2.074 μm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a Q-switched fiber laser operating beyond 3 μm.     

True fundamental solitons in a passively mode-locked short-cavity Cr(4+):YAG laser

We demonstrate a self-starting, passively mode-locked short-cavity Cr(4+):YAG laser that supports fundamental intracavity solitons over wide ranges of cavity group-velocity dispersion and pulse energies. The total dispersion and nonlinear effects are small enough that stable, N=1 soliton pulses are generated. Equally spaced multiple pulsing is also observed, with fundamental soliton behavior preserved. Regions of bistability exist where, at a constant cavity dispersion, the laser can produce transform-limited pulses of a different width and energy. The laser produces 200-fs pulses at approximately 0.9-, 1.8-, and 2.7-GHz repetition rates with a total of 82 mW of average output power.     

钕玻璃啁啾脉冲放大器产生百焦耳亚皮秒脉冲

以钕玻璃为增益介质研制了高能啁啾脉冲激光放大器系统,实验演示输出啁啾脉冲能量在百焦耳量级时,光谱宽度保持在4—6 nm.最大能量168 J,相应谱宽5.5 nm,中心波长1054 nm.压缩脉冲宽度最短710 fs. 关键词： 啁啾脉冲放大 钕玻璃 高能拍瓦     

Diode-pumped Ba(NO3)2 and NaBrO3 Raman lasers

A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser transversely pumped with a 300-W quasi-cw diode generated pulses at 1.06 7m with intracavity energies of up to 10 mJ. Intracavity Raman shifting in a 60-mm-long Ba(NO₃)₂ crystal led to pulses with energies of 2.5 mJ at 1197 nm. The output pulse duration was reduced to 8.5 ns compared to 50 ns at the fundamental wavelength. Beam quality improvement was observed. A NaBrO₃ Raman laser generated pulse energies of 0.4 mJ at 1163 nm with a crystal of only 18 mm length. The Raman radiation was frequency doubled into the yellow spectral region from 580 nm to 599 nm, which is difficult to reach with other solid-state lasers.     

Narrow pulse width and high power passively Q-switched Nd3+:Gd3Ga5O12 laser with Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber

A compact, diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd³⁺:Gd₃Ga₅O₁₂ (Nd:GGG) laser with Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber has been successfully demonstrated. Stable Q-switched pulses with pulse energy of 100 ??J and high peak power of 14 kW have been obtained. The pulse width was as short as 7 ns with low repetition rate of 10 kHz. The dependence of pulse width, pulse repetition rate, pulse energy and pulse peak power on pump power have been measured respectively. Experimental results reveal that the Nd:GGG crystal with Cr⁴⁺:YAG saturable absorber is suitable for narrow pulse width and high power passively Q-switched lasers.     

Fully conductively cooled, diode-pumped Ho:Tm:LuLiF4 laser oscillator/amplifier

A fully conductively cooled and diode-pumped linear Ho:Tm:LuLiF laser oscillator can generate more than 1 J normal mode pulses at a 10 Hz pulse repetition rate where heat pipes are used for cooling pump diodes and laser crystal. As an amplifier, it can amplify the 80 mJ/180 ns pulses into 400 mJ pulses before the appearance of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). The ASE threshold is about 5.6 J with a 40 mm long and side-polished laser crystal. For a 5 mJ input pulse and 5.6 J pump pulse, the double-pass gain exceeds 22.5. If the lateral surface of the laser crystal is fine ground, the ASE threshold can rise to higher than 8 J, but the efficiency will be lower due to large pump diffusion.     

A compact passively Q-switched intra-cavity frequency doubled Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG composite crystal green laser

A compact diode-end-pumped passively Q-switched intra-cavity frequency doubled Nd:YAG/Cr⁴⁺:YAG composite crystal laser was demonstrated. The pulsed laser at 532 nm was produced and the dependence of the average out power, pulse width and pulse repetition rate on incident pump power were measured. Under the pump power of 14 W, the minimum pulse width of 3.5 ns with repetition rate of 27.5 kHz was obtained, corresponding single-pulse energy of 18 μJ and peak power of 5.3 kW.     

Effect of Nd3+ concentration on CW and pulsed performance of fiber-coupled diode laser pumped Nd:YVO4 laser at 1064 nm

The effect of Nd³⁺ concentration on the CW and Q-switched laser performances at 1064 nm from Nd: YVO₄ has been studied under diode laser pumping in identical laser configuration. The Nd³⁺ concentrations used were 1, 2 and 3 at.% in YVO₄ crystals. Under the CW operations we have compared the thermal lensing effect, slope efficiencies and also the beam quality at the fourth-order degeneracy configuration. Q-switching was done with the help of an acousto-optic modulator and we have compared the pulses obtained from Nd: YVO₄ laser with different doping concentration. It was found that the 1 at.%-doped crystal is the best, offering highest optical-to-optical conversion efficiency (55%), lowest fractional heat load (24%), highest pulse energy (80 μJ) and shortest pulse width (20 ns). It was also found that there was not much difference in performances for 2 and 3 at.%-doped crystals both in CW and Q-switched configurations.     

Optical limiting effect based on stimulated Brillouin scattering in CCl4

The optical limiting effect based on stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in a nonlinear medium was investigated. We numerically treated the nonlinear propagation process with a theoretical model, which includes the spontaneous nature of the initiation of SBS, and obtained optical limiting effect in the process. Energy limiting, pulse reshaping and stabilization have been demonstrated on SBS mechanism with the nonlinear medium CCl_4. The input optical signals were Nd:YAG nanosecond laser pulses with width varying from 16ns to 7ns then to 2ns, the relationship between the transmitted signal and launched pump signal was shown. In the experimental regime, the most stable pulse and a superior energy stabilization of the transmitted pulse were obtained when the laser pulse-width became as short as 2ns. For the energy variation of laser pulses in a wide range of 14－88mJ, the output energy was limited in a quite narrow range 4.5－5.5mJ.     

4.5-ns Pulse generation at a 500-kHz repetition rate from a short-cavity acoustooptically Q-switched Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser

In an end-pumped 20-mm-cavity-length acoustooptically Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser, 4.5-ns pulses at a 500-kHz repetition rate with a 5-kW peak power are produced. The pulse width is <10 ns at repetition rates lower than 1.1 MHz. The short cavity results in a short roundtrip time of light within the cavity and a high gain with a modest pump power, and both are essential for short-pulse and high-repetition rate operation. The output pulse width versus the pump power and repetition rate is experimentally studied. The output transmission also has a considerable influence on the pulse width and shape, and there exists an optimum transmission for the shortest pulse width and symmetrical pulse shape.     

串联式电光开关实现光脉冲宽度大范围可调

为了获得大范围脉宽可调的光脉冲,以连续激光为光源,采用两个外腔调制型电光开关,将该连续激光调制成单脉冲光源.其中两个外腔调制型电光开关采用串联方式工作,两者之间的检偏方向相互垂直,由第一级电光开关实现激光脉冲的快速开启,第二级电光开关实现激光脉冲的快速关闭.通过延时同步机对两个电光开关的动作时间进行控制,从而实现光脉冲宽度大范围可调.实验研究获得了最窄脉冲宽度40 ns,最宽脉冲宽度400μs的532 nm激光脉冲.     

Analysis of a laser-diode end-pumped intracavity frequency-doubled passively Q-switched and mode-locked Nd:GdVO<Subscript>4</Subscript>/KTP laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber

A diode-pumped passively Q-switched mode-locked (QML) intracavity frequency-doubled Nd:GdVO₄/KTP green laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber is presented. Nearly 100% modulation depth for the mode-locked green pulses can be achieved at any pump power over 1.92 W. The width of the mode-locked green pulse was estimated to be about 150 ps. The mode-locked pulse interval within the Q-switched envelope of 320 ns and the repetition rate of 97.5 kHz were obtained, at an incident pump power of 4.4 W. The repetition rate of the mode-locked green pulses inside the Q-switched envelope was 140 MHz.     

Second Stokes 1129 nm generation in gray-trace resistance KTP intracavity driven by a diode-pumped Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser

A gray-trace resistance KTP (GTR-KTP) second Stokes Raman laser intracavity driven by a diode-pumped acousto-optic Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser was first demonstrated in this paper. With an incident pump power of 9.5 W, the intracavity GTR-KTP Raman laser, operating at the repetition rate of 20 kHz, produced the maximum average output power of 860 mW at 1129 nm. The minimum pulse width obtained in this GTR-KTP Raman laser was 10.8 ns. When the GTR-KTP was substituted with a common KTP, a lower average output power of 720 mW and longer pulse width of 15.9 ns were obtained in the common KTP Raman laser under the same pump condition and cavity setup as the GTR-KTP Raman laser. Experimental results indicated that the decreased absorption at the fundamental and Stokes wave in GTR-KTP was beneficial to improve the stimulated Raman scattering performance.