Output mode characteristics of an in-phase locked gain waveguide array CO2 laser

In this paper,experimental and theoretical studies of the output mode characteristics of an in-phase locked gain waveguide array CO 2 laser are reported.The experimental results of the optical oscillation mode frequency,the far-field intensity distribution and the burnt pattern of the sliced waveguide array laser are obtained.A revised mode expression of the rectangle waveguide,which is suited for this waveguide array CO 2 laser,is proposed.The theoretical simulation results based on the revised mode expression are shown to be in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Injection seeding for single-mode operation in an optically pumped high-power D2O laser

Spectrally narrow, pulsed outputs consisting of almost a single mode have been obtained from an optically-pumped high-power (200kW) D₂O laser by adopting the injection seeding method, where single-mode radiation (seed pulse) from a low-power, compact D₂O laser has been injected into the main D₂O laser. Spectrally narrow outputs with high power having spectral widths as narrow as 5 MHz have been obtained, when the seed pulses with frequency tuned to one longitudinal mode of the main D₂O laser have been injected at a time sufficiently before the lasing of the main laser took place. The experimental results have been compared with those of numerical simulation modified to include the injection field with varying injection times.     

Application of the light-shift effect to laser frequency stabilization with reference to a microwave frequency standard

A new method allowing laser frequency stabilization with reference to a microwave oscillator, independently of the laser intensity, is described. The method makes use of the dependence of the ground-state hfs transition frequency on the optical radiation frequency in alkali atoms irradiated by quasi-resonant light. Preliminary experimental investigations are reported in the case of a cw GaAs diode laser tuned to the D₂ absorption line in a cesium gas cell. The absolute laser frequency exhibited variations of 1.4 MHz r.m.s. around an average value determined to within 2 parts in 10¹⁰ for a period of 5 minutes. The possibility of defining a cesium beam, reference wavelength connected with the time standard is discussed.     

Mode selection in an unstable-resonator TEA CO2 laser by injection from a waveguide laser

The effect of injecting radiation from a cw waveguide CO₂ laser into a TEA laser through a hole in one mirror of its unstable resonator has been studied experimentally. High-power single longitudinal mode operation of the TEA laser is achieved over a wide but finite range of injection frequencies, the frequency of the single-mode pulse being that of the TEA laser cavity mode lying closest to the injected frequency. Although a simple theoretical model shows good qualitative agreement with observations it underestimates the range of injection frequencies which result in single-mode pulses unless a fast chirping of the cavity mode frequency is postulated.     

Investigation for long wavelength fir laser lines for EPR studies: New lines from CH2=CF2

The results described in this work are part of a systematic search for long wavelength laser lines to be used in high magnetic field EPR applications and in plasma diagnostic. Four new far-infrared laser lines of CH₂ = CF₂ (1,1 difluoroethylene), optically pumped by a waveguide CO₂ laser, have been discovered and characterized in wavelength, polarization relative to the pumping radiation and offset relative to the CO₂ center frequency. New measurements of polarization and offset of 5 already known laser lines are also reported. A table of all of the known CO₂ pumped FIR laser lines from this molecule is given.     

Efficient diode-pumped Nd:GGG laser operation at 933.6 and 937.3 nm

CW laser emission on the quasi 3-level (⁴F_3/2→⁴I_9/2) transition in Nd:GGG is reported for different pump focusing and resonator dimensions. A nearly hemispherical plano-concave resonator led at 937.3 nm to a maximum output power of 4.1 W for an incident pump power of 21.7 W, thus corresponding to a slope efficiency of about 23.5%. Laser operation was also obtained for the first time around 933.6 nm by using a glass etalon for frequency selection with a maximum output power of 2.3 W and a slope efficiency of 16% with respect to the incident pump power. Dual-wavelength operation (around 933.6 and 937.3 nm), which offers a potential source to generate THz radiation, is also reported.     

Generation and detection of tunable ultrashort infrared and far-infrared radiation pulses of high intensity

We report on generation and detection of intense pulsed radiation with frequency tunability in the infrared and far-infrared spectral regions. Infrared radiation is generated with a transversally electrically excited high pressure CO₂ laser. A laser pulse of a total duration of about 300 ns consisted, due to self mode locking, of a series of single pulses, some with pulse durations of less than 450 ps and peak powers larger than 20 MW. Using these pulses for optical pumping of a Raman D₂O laser, trains of short far-infrared pulses with durations less than 400 ps were obtained. For detection a new ultrafast superconducting detector was used.     

Beat excitation of terahertz radiation in a semiconductor slab in a magnetic field

Two infrared lasers of frequencies ω₁ and ω₂ propagating in the TM/TE mode along $\stackrel{?}{z}$ direction in a rippled density semiconductor waveguide are shown to resonantly excite terahertz radiation at the beat frequency when ripple wave number is suitably chosen to satisfy the phase matching. The wave vector of the density ripple is along the direction of laser propagation while a static magnetic field is applied transverse to it. The lasers exert a ponderomotive force on the electrons at the beat frequency. This force, in the presence of density ripple and transverse magnetic field, produces a nonlinear current at the terahertz frequency. The magnetic field enhances the amplitude of the terahertz wave. However terahertz yield is significantly higher in the TM mode laser beating than in the TE mode laser beating.     

Frequency stabilization and transverse mode discrimination in injection-seeded unstable resonator TEA CO2 lasers

Longitudinal mode selection by injection has been demonstrated as a viable technique for TEA-CO₂ lasers with pulse energies of a Joule or greater. Once reliable generation of single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) pulses is obtained, one can study the characteristics and the causes of intrapulse frequency variation. These include the effect of the decaying plasma, the thermal gradient due to the energy dissipation associated with the laser mechanism itself, and the pressure shift of the center frequency of the laser transition. The use of the positive-branch unstable resonator as an efficient means of coupling a discharge with large spatial dimensions to an optical cavity mode introduces another concern: namely, what can be done to emphasize transverse mode discrimination in an unstable resonator cavity while maintaining high coupling efficiency. These issues are discussed in this paper, and relevant experimental results are included.     

A DC excited waveguide multibeam CO2 laser using high frequency pre-ionization technique

High power industrial multibeam CO₂ lasers consist of a large number of closely packed parallel glass discharge tubes sharing a common plane parallel resonator. Every discharge tube forms an independent resonator. When discharge tubes of smaller diameter are used and the Fresnel numberN ≪ 1 for all resonators, they operate in waveguide mode. Waveguide modes have excellent discrimination of higher order modes. A DC excited waveguide multibeam CO₂ laser is reported having six glass discharge tubes. Simultaneous excitation of DC discharge in all sections is achieved by producing pre-ionization using an auxiliary high frequency pulsed discharge along with its other advantages. Maximum 170 W output power is obtained with all beams operating in EH₁₁ waveguide mode. The specific power of 28 W/m is much higher as compared to similar AC excited waveguide multibeam CO₂ lasers. Theoretical analysis shows that all resonators of this laser will support only EH₁₁ mode. This laser is successfully used for woodcutting     

Dynamics of resonant fluorescence from atomic Cs vapor at scanning the frequency of laser radiation in the presence of a constant magnetic field

The dynamics of interaction of laser radiation resonant with the transitions of D₂ line in atomic Cs¹³³ in the presence of an external magnetic field is studied. Populations of levels and dynamics of resonant fluorescence at scanning frequency of the laser radiation with linear and circular polarizations are considered.     

New far-infrared emissions and frequency measurements in hydrazine

By means of a new CO₂ laser we performed a new investigation of the far-infrared laser emission spectrum of hydrazine excited by the 10P(32) and 10R(8) CO₂ laser lines. We found seven new lines and measured the frequency of four of them; moreover we measured the frequencies of two more lines previously reported in the literature with only wavelength measurements. The frequencies of the far-infrared laser emissions have been measured by means of a frequency-synthesis chain based on new InP Schottky diodes. The detected signal was beat-note generated in a Schottky diode between the far-infrared radiation, the harmonics of a 72 GHz frequency reference and a rf signal. We also characterized all of the observed lines by their polarization relative to the pumping CO₂ laser, the optimum pressure and the offset relative to the CO₂ center frequency. PACS 42.55.Lt; 42.62.Fi     

Passive mode-locking Yb<Subscript>3+</Subscript>:Sc<Subscript>2</Subscript>SiO<Subscript>5</Subscript> laser at 1040 nm with SESAM

Passive mode locking of the new crystal Yb₃₊:Sc₂SiO₅ (Yb:SSO) laser at 1040 nm in a w-type cavity is reported for the first time to our knowledge. The laser operated at a repetition frequency of 94 MHz. A pulse duration of 4.2 ps was produced with an average power of 543 mW and a highest pulse energy of 5.7 nJ, corresponding it’s maximum peak power can reach to 1.4 kW.     

Diode-pumped 671 nm laser frequency doubled by CPM LBO

A design of diode-pumped high-efficiency Nd:YVO₄/LBO red laser is reported. Using critical phase-matching (CPM) LBO, 671 nm red laser was obtained from 1342 nm light by intracavity frequency doubling. With an incident pump laser of 800 mW, using type-I and type-II CPM LBO, 97 and 52 mWTEM₀₀ mode red laser outputs were obtained, with optical-to-optical conversion efficiencies of up to 12.1% and 6.5%, respectively.     

Infrared absorption spectrometer with a broad-band tunable He—Xe laser

The performance of the infrared spectrometer with the tunable 3.5 μm He-¹³⁶Xe laser as a radiation source is characterized as follows: 1) the tuning coverage of 7 cm^?1 by a Zeeman laser with a superconducting solenoid is an order of magnitude broader than that reported in the past, 2) the source frequency modulation of specific amplitude, accompanied by synchronous detection, makes the output free from undulation due to mode hopping, 3) the highly directive laser beam is passed through an absorption cell of about 50 m effective path-length in which the Stark electric field is applicable to absorbing molecules. The high resolution and high sensitivity as well as the broad frequency coverage of the infrared spectrometer are demonstrated in the absorption spectra of some organic gas molecules.     

Violet light generation by frequency doubling of GaAlAs diode laser using a metallo-organic complex crystal ZnCd(SCN)4

Violet 404-nm radiation is generated by type-I single-pass frequency doubling of the output of an GaAlAs diode laser in critically phase-matched ZnCd(SCN)₄ (ZCTC) crystal, a metallo-organic complex crystal. In this paper, its refractive index and second-harmonic generation phase-matching angles are reported. Using a 3-mm-long ZCTC crystal, a diode laser power of 473 mW generated 390 μW of second-harmonic radiation. More recently, 380-nm, 20 μW ultraviolet (UV) radiation is also realized by frequency doubling of the 100 mW output of a continuous-wave Ti:sapphire laser at 760 nm. ZCTC is a promising UV nonlinear optical candidate material for frequency doubling of diode lasers.     

Accurate Stabilization of a 3 mW Single-Mode Output He-Ne Laser by Intermittent Frequency Offset Locking to an Iodine Stabilized He-Ne Laser

A high-power, unmodulated frequency standard laser light with low running cost is a powerful tool for industrial measurement involving laser calibration and interferometry in length and shape. To obtain such a laser light, we developed an intermittent frequency offset locked laser (IFOL laser). This laser system, composed of an iodine stabilized He-Ne laser (I₂SL) and a high-powered symmetric three-mode He-Ne laser (HP-3ML, optical output=5 mW), provides two stabilization operational modes: (1) independent mode (I-mode) and (2) slave mode (S-mode). Utilizing the frequency pulling effect, HP-3ML is stabilized at the condition of symmetric three-mode oscillation, and a 3 mW single-mode light with frequency instability of 10^-12 is obtained (I-mode). When the optical frequency deviates from the allowed limit during I-mode, HP-3ML is temporarily offset-locked to I₂SL (S-mode) with frequency resettability of 10^-10 and frequency instability of 10^-12. After completion of the drift reset in S-mode, HP-3ML is stabilized in I-mode again, and then I₂SL is turned off. In a typical case of allowed drift in ±1 MHz, repetitive operation of I-mode for 10 days and S-mode for 5 min was satisfactory. Such an intermittent operation reduces the working time of I₂SL dramatically, resulting in low running cost that enables long-term use in industrial measurement.     

Single mode CO2-laser pulses of high power

Single longitudinal mode CO₂-laser pulses of 200 MW power have been produced by seeding an unstable resonator cavity with single mode radiation from a hybrid low pressure — high pressure CO₂ laser system. The results indicate that a ratio of dominant over residual mode intensities of better than 10⁵ were achieved.     

Broadband frequency conversion of laser radiation in ZnGeP2 crystal

The phase matching conditions in the ZnGeP₂ crystal are calculated and analyzed from the viewpoint of broadband frequency conversion of mid-IR radiation. The frequency conversion of Cr:ZnS laser radiation in the ZnGeP₂ crystal is calculated. The results show the possibility of developing a broadband laser source whose spectrum spans a wavelength range of 3.2–9.5 µm.     

FIR Stark spectroscopy on optically pumped CH3OH laser

An extensive theoretical and experimental analysis of the absorption and emission spectrum of a CH₃OH FIR-laser excited by a conventional CO₂ laser is presented. Particular interest is devoted to the Stark shifts of the pump and lasing lines and to the electric field dependence of the Fir-laser output of the various lines. The offsets with respect to the exciting radiation and the Stark shifts of the IR absorption (pump) lines are measured by means of the transferred Lamb dip technique. The theoretical behaviours of the Stark patterns are calculated for several choices of the quantum numbers and selection rules involved in the transitions. A large variety of experimental results are reported and compared to theory. Non-linear Stark shifts have been observed for the 37.5m FIR laser line and for the IR-pump transitions excited by the 9-P(38) and 10-R(38) CO₂ laser Lines. Line assignments are proposed and new FIR laser lines are reported.