Self-contained compact pulsed laser based on an auto-wave photon-branched chain reaction

The possible construction of a self-contained and compact pulsed chemical HF-laser based on an auto-wave photon-branched chain reaction initiated in a gaseous disperse medium composed of H₂-F₂-O₂-He and Al particles by focused external IR radiation is theoretically substantiated. It is shown that an autonomous system and minimization of the parameters of the main pulsed HF-laser units are achievable due to both the effect of ignition of the laser-chemical reaction in an auto-wave regime under the condition of external beam focusing and the effect of a huge laser energy gain of 10¹¹. These effects provide strong reduction of the input pulse energy necessary for initiation up to ∼10^-8 J, and make it possible to construct a self-contained laser with kilojoule output energy, which can be initiated by a small submicrojoule master oscillator powered by an accumulator. Due to an increase in the general pressure of working gases up to P=2.3 bar and optimization of the parameters of the dispersed component (Al particles with radius r₀=0.09 μm and concentration N₀=1.4×10⁹ cm^-3) and the composition of the working mixture, the HF-laser system will ensure an output energy up to ∼1.5 kJ in a pulse from the rather small volume of ∼2 L of the active medium. Received: 18 April 2000 / Revised version: 21 August 2000 / Published online: 8 November 2000     

A frequency-doubled pulsed chemical oxygen-iodine laser

The intracavity second-harmonic generation of pulsed chemical oxygen-iodine laser radiation was investigated. A pulsed chemical oxygen-iodine laser with a maximum output energy of 6.14 mJ was used. The second-harmonic output of 0.5 mJ was demonstrated using a lithium iodate crystal. The conversion efficiency of 8% was limited by intracavity losses. Numerical simulation predicts that a conversion efficiency of 75% can be obtained with 1% intracavity losses.     

Continuous-wave high-power multi-pass pumped thin-disc Nd:GdVO4 laser

A thin-disc Nd:GdVO₄ laser in multi-pass pumping scheme was developed. Continuous-wave output power of 13.9 W at 1.06 μm for an absorbed power at 808 nm of 22 W was demonstrated from a 250-μm thick, 0.5-at.% Nd:GdVO₄ in a 4-pass pumping; the slope efficiency in absorbed power was 0.65, or 0.47 in input power. Output performances were also investigated under diode laser pumping at 879 nm, directly into the emitting ⁴F_3/2 level: maximum power of 3.6 W was obtained at 6.2 W of absorbed power with 0.69 slope efficiency. Compared with pumping at 808 nm, into the highly absorbing ⁴F_5/2 level, improvements of laser parameter in absorbed power (increase of slope efficiency, decrease of threshold) were obtained, showing the advantages of the pumping into the emitting level. However, the laser performances expressed vs. the incident power were modest owing to the low absorption efficiency at 879 nm. Thus, increased number of passes of the medium would be necessary in order to match the performances in input power obtained under 808-nm pumping.     

Influence of cavity configuration on the pulse energy of a high-pressure molecular fluorine laser

We report an investigation of a high-pressure molecular fluorine laser operating at 158 nm. Several cavity configurations were studied, including one employing a roof prism as the high reflector. A maximum VUV pulse energy of 237 mJ, corresponding to a specific output of 3.3 J/1 was obtained when the laser was operated as a double-ended device. With single-ended operation the largest output energy was 176 mJ at a specific output of 2.5 J/1.     

A frequency doubled chemical oxygen iodine laser

The output of a chemical oxygen iodine laser (=1.315 m) has been frequency doubled at an overall conversion efficiency of 1%. A lithium iodate (LiIO₃) crystal was used in an intracavity doubling scheme. This represents the first time visible laser light has been obtained, solely from a chemical source.To whom the correspondence should be addressed.     

Chemically pumped O2(a-X) laser

A theoretical and experimental study was conducted aimed at achieving laser oscillation in the (a-X) electronic transition of oxygen molecules. Although this transition is highly forbidden by rigorous selection rules, it may nevertheless concede stimulated emission, if the population inversion is high enough. The idea is based on a recently developed apparatus, namely, a porous pipe type high-pressure chemical singlet oxygen generator. A numerical model which describes the characteristics of this generator was developed to estimate the population inversion and small-signal gain achievable in a laser cavity using this source. The calculations showed that the small-signal gain ought to be sufficient to achieve laser oscillation. Preliminary experiments were conducted, but lasing was not yet observed. It is shown that the scattering losses caused by water droplet aerosols are mainly responsible for preventing our system from laser oscillation.     

Gain-switched semiconductor laser amplifier as an ultrafast dynamical optical gate

A gain-switched semiconductor laser is shown to act as an optical gate with picosecond resolution and amplification for light pulses from another laser source. The amplification mechanism and the gate width change qualitatively when the gate laser undergoes a transition from a pumping rate slightly below the dynamic laser threshold to slightly above the dynamic threshold. If the gate laser is pumped below but close to its dynamical threshold, unsaturated amplification of an external signal pulse occurs over a delay time range between the external optical pulse and the electrical driving pulse of about 100–200 ps which is equivalent to the optical gate width. The signal amplification is observed to increase by two orders of magnitude and the gate width decreases by one order of magnitude if the gate laser is pumped slightly above the dynamical threshold. Amplification then occurs for input signals injected much earlier. A detailed theory of coherent, time-dependent amplification including the nonlinear dynamics of the semiconductor laser is shown to account for the observations. Both amplification regimes, below and above threshold, are reproduced in the numerical simulations. The extremely short and highly sensitive gate range above threshold is identified as being due to the gain maximum related with the first relaxation oscillation of the laser.     

Mode competition in multi-core fiber amplifier

3D beam propagation numerical code and a newly developed optical mode solver were implemented for studies on the recently experimentally realized Yb fiber amplifier with 7-core hexagonal structure. It was found that the launched seven single-frequency beams matched with the cores converge to a wave field with permanently diminishing space beating patterns, but the result is sensitive to phases of separate beams. Namely, at a spread of phases of individual beams within a few tenths of radian, the convergence of the wave field to the in-phase mode is observed, while at phases random spread on the order of π the out-of-phase mode is dominating. Such behavior is observed at strong gain saturation in the cores. Both effects take place even if the guiding index of the cores fluctuates within a limited range. The mode solver predicts that the in-phase mode has the minimal small signal gain, and the gain of the out-of-phase mode is maximal one. This fact proves that there is no strict correlation between modal gains and amplification in strong saturated multi-core fiber. The smaller core index step significantly improves the convergence of the amplified radiation to the in-phase mode. An approach to the waveguide structure tailoring is described which assures the single in-phase mode stability.     

High-efficiency,high-energy performance of a pulsed HF laser pumped by phototriggered discharge

A comparison of the performance of pulsed infrared HF lasers pumped by phototriggered discharges using either Ne/SF₆/H₂ or Ne/SF₆/C₂H₆ mixtures are presented. For an active volume of 50 cm³, a specific output energy as high as 11 J/ has been achieved with an efficiency higher than 3% when C₂H₆ is used as H atom fuel. The replacement of ethane by molecular hydrogen reduces the laser performance by 40%. The investigation of the temporal evolution of the laser intensity shows that this dramatic decrease results from a shortening of the laser pulse duration rather than from a decrease of the peak power. Indications are given that this behavior is correlated to a very different temporal evolution of the discharge parameters, especially at low reduced electric field E/N.     

Kinetic study of a short-pulse electron-beam pumped Kr/F2 laser amplifier medium at very low pressure operation

A numerical investigation has been performed for very low pressure (200 Torr) buffer-free KrF laser-amplifier medium pumped by a short pulse (10 ns FWHM) electron beam with low excitation rate operation (200 kW/cm³). The small-signal-gain coefficient (g ₀) and absorption coefficient () have been estimated for this new operational mode. The formation and quenching processes are also discussed kinetically.     

Experiment and modeling of a small-scale,supersonic chemical oxygen-iodine laser

We report on detailed experiment and modeling of a small-scale, supersonic chemical oxygen-iodine laser. The laser has a 5 cm long active medium and utilizes a simple sparger-type O₂(¹ ) chemical generator and a medium-size pumping system. A grid nozzle is used for iodine injection and supersonic expansion. 25 W of cw laser emission at 1.315 µm are obtained in the present experiments. The small size and the simple structure of the laser system and its stable operation for long times make it a convenient tool for studying parameters important for high-power supersonic iodine lasers and for comparison to model calculations. The lasing power is studied as a function of the molar flow rates of the various reagents, and conditions are found for optimal operation. Good agreement is found between the experimental results and calculations based on a simple one-dimensional semi-empirical model, previously developed in our laboratory and modified in the present work. The model is used to predict optimal values for parameters affecting the laser performance that are difficult to examine in the present experimental system.     

Automatic alignment of a high-power CO2 laser resonator

An on-line, electronic feedback approach for automatic alignment of a laser resonator is described. A measure of the resonator alignment error is derived by partitioning a 1% sample of the laser output into quadrants, and using standard electronic circuits to compare the average power present in each quadrant. A motorized X — Y alignment system is then used to implement the alignment changes required to maintain optimum output quality from the laser. The system is shown capable of stabilizing the output power in each quadrant of the beam to within about 2% of the optimum level.     

A subpicosecond dye laser pumped by a xenon ion laser

A pulsed xenon ion laser has been used to pump a rhodamine 6G dye laser utilizing a ring resonator. The dye laser has been passively mode-locked; a pulsewidth of 0.5 ps and a 50 kW peak power have been obtained.Work partly supported by Italian C.N.R.     

Continuous-wave operation of a room-temperature Ho:YAP laser pumped by a Tm:YAP laser

We reported the Ho:YAP laser pumped by the Tm:YAP laser. The Ho:YAP laser maximum output power was 4.91 W when the incident power was 10.1 W with the threshold of 2.63 W. The slope efficiency was 63.7%, corresponding to an optical-to-optical efficiency of 48.6%. The Ho:YAP output wavelength was centered at 2118.2 nm with bandwidth of about 1 nm. We estimate the beam quality to be M² = 1.29.     

Small signal gain measurements in a small scale HF overtone laser

The overtone gain medium of a small-scale HF overtone laser was probed using a sub-Doppler tunable diode laser. Two-dimensional spatially resolved small signal gain and temperature maps were generated for several ro-vibrational transitions in the HF (v=2→v=0) overtone band. Our results compare well with previous measurements of the overtone gain in a similar HF laser device. Received: 7 October 2002 / Accepted: 20 January 2003 / Published online: 28 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-505/846-4807, E-mail: kevin.hewett@kirtland.af.mil     

Two-wavelength operation of a tunable KrF excimer laser — A promising technique for combustion diagnostics

A KrF excimer laser was operated on two independently tunable lines. This was achieved by a double-resonator configuration with two gratings. Tuning range and gain competition were investigated. The narrow line width (<1 cm^–1) and the independent tunability make this laser ideal for simultaneous spectroscopic detection of two species and temperature measurements in combustion processes.     

Continuous-wave broadly tunable Cr:ZnSe laser pumped by a thulium fiber laser

We describe a compact, broadly tunable, continuous-wave (cw) Cr²⁺:ZnSe laser pumped by a thulium fiber laser at 1800 nm. In the experiments, a polycrystalline ZnSe sample with a chromium concentration of 9.5 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ was used. Free-running laser output was around 2500 nm. Output couplers with transmissions of 3%, 6%, and 15% were used to characterize the power performance of the laser. Best power performance was obtained with a 15% transmitting output coupler. In this case, as high as 640 mW of output power was obtained with 2.5 W of pump power at a wavelength of 2480 nm. The stimulated emission cross-section values determined from laser threshold data and emission measurements were in good agreement. Finally, broad, continuous tuning of the laser was demonstrated between 2240 and 2900 nm by using an intracavity Brewster cut MgF₂ prism and a single set of optics.     

A single-mode KrF laser

Single-mode operation of a KrF laser oscillator has been achieved for the first time. The laser medium is pumped by an electron beam which allows excitation for a much longer duration than with discharge pumping. The long excitation time, together with the use of a short oscillator cavity with a low single-pass gain, allows many roundtrips before saturation is reached. This makes line-narrowing easier and single-mode operation has been achieved using only two intracavity etalons.Technical Research Centre of Finland, Helsinki, Finland     

Comparative study of spectral narrowing of a pulsed Ti:Sapphire laser using pulsed and CW injection seeding

We report a comparative study of a pulsed as well as continuous-wave (cw) injection seeding of a Ti:Sapphire laser pumped by aQ-switched frequency-doubled Nd³⁺:YAG laser for achieving narrow spectral bandwidth. The results have indicated that the Ti:Sapphire laser using either a pulsed or a cw injection seeding could achieve efficient energy extraction in a narrow spectral bandwidth. In the case of pulsed injection seeding, the injection energy required for the complete injection seeding critically depended upon the timing of the Ti:Sapphire laser with respect to the delayed onset of the slave laser. On the other hand, in the case of cw injection seeding, the spectral bandwidth of the Ti:Sapphire laser was efficiently narrowed down to approximately 0.01 cm^–1 with an injection power of less than 1 mW. In both types of injection seeding, characteristics observed experimentally were compared with those obtained by a numerical simulation code based on the one-dimensional rate-equation model.     

Lasing performance of a chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) with advanced ejector-nozzle banks

Experimental results have demonstrated that the use of ejector-nozzle concepts can allow to achieve simultaneously high chemical efficiency and high pressure recovery in a chemical oxygen iodine laser. The estimated small-signal gain of the gain medium generated by these nozzle banks was from 0.5 to 0.8 %/cm. In laser experiments with all nozzle banks (NB-1–NB-5), Pitot pressures of the order of 80 Torr and Mach numbers of ∼2 in the cavity-mixing chamber have been achieved. The geometry of a given ejector-nozzle bank and gas-flow conditions affect the power extraction and chemical efficiency. The main factors for high efficiency and high power are small mixing scale, high area for the oxygen flow, dilution of chlorine by helium, and the arrangement of nozzles. A chemical efficiency of 25% at a power level of ∼900 W was obtained for NB-1 having the smallest mixing scale, parallel injection of all flows, and dilution of oxygen by helium. The highest power of ∼1.2 kW with a chemical efficiency of 19.5% and 160 W/cm² of specific output power was achieved with NB-5 having the largest area for the oxygen flow and dilution of oxygen by helium. Received: 7 October 2002 / Accepted: 20 January 2003 / Published online: 28 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +7-8462/355-600, E-mail: nikolaev@fian.smr.ru