Damage on HfO2/SiO2 high-reflecting coatings under single and multiple Nd:YAG laser pulse irradiation

The single- and multi-shot damage behaviors of HfO2/SiO2 high-reflecting (HR) coatings under Nd:YAG laser exposure were investigated. Fundamental aspects of multi-shot laser damage, such as the instability due to pulse-to-pulse accumulation of absorption defect and structural defect effect, and the mechanism of laser induced defect generation, are considered. It was found in multi-shot damage, the main factors influencing laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) are accumulation of irreversible changes of structural defects and thermal stress that induced by thermal density fluctuations.     

HfO_2/SiO_2高反射膜的缺陷及其激光损伤

用原子力、Normaski和扫描电子显微镜等分析仪器 ,对高损伤阈值薄膜常采用的 Hf O2 /Si O2 薄膜进行了表面显微图象研究 ,分析了薄膜常见的表面缺陷 ,如节瘤 ,孔洞和划痕等。薄膜表面缺陷的激光损伤实验表明 ,不同缺陷的抗激光损伤能力大不相同 ,节瘤缺陷最低 ,约为 1 5 J/ cm2 ,薄膜的损伤阈值主要由其决定 ,孔洞的激光损伤能力与节瘤相比较高 ,约为节瘤的 2～ 3倍。节瘤缺陷在低能量密度的激光损伤所形成的孔洞 ,与镀制过程中形成的孔洞形貌相似 ,激光再损伤能力也相似。低能量密度的激光把节瘤缺陷变为孔洞缺陷是激光预处理提高薄膜损伤阈值的原因之一     

Additive pulse mode-locked Nd: YAG laser

Additive pulse mode locking applied to lamppumped Nd: YAG lasers results in an attractive source of picosecond pulses at 1.06 m or 1.32 m with average powers at the Watt level. We provide detailed information on construction and operation and give data on performance. A modified active stabilization scheme allows not only improved stability of operation but also insight into the dynamics of pulse formation.     

Accumulation effect of SiO_2 protective layer on multi-shot laser-induced damage in high-reflectivity HfO_2/SiO_2 coatings

The accumulation effects in high-reflectivity(HR) HfO2/SiO2 coatings under laser irradiation are investigated.The HR HfO2/SiO2 coatings are prepared by electron beam evaporation at 1 064 nm.The laser-induced damage threshold(LIDT) are measured at 1 064 nm and at a pulse duration of 12 ns,in 1-on-1 and S-on-1 modes.Multi-shot LIDT is lower than single-shot LIDT.The laser-induced and native defects play an important role in the multi-shot mode.A correlative theory model based on critical conduction band electron density is constructed to elucidate the experimental phenomena.     

Intrinsic ZnO films fabricated by DC sputtering from oxygen-deficient targets for Cu（In,Ga）Se2 solar cell application

Samples with nodular defects grown from gold nanoparticles are prepared,and laser-induced damage tests are conducted on them.Nodular defects,which are in critical state of damage,are cross-sectioned by focusing on the ion beam and by imaging using a field emission scanning electron microscope.The crosssectional profile shows that cracks are generated and propagated along the nodular boundaries and the HfO2/SiO2 interface,or are even melted.The thermomechanical process induced by the heated seed region is analyzed based on the calculations of temperature increase and thermal stress.The numerical results give the critical temperature of the seed region and the thermal stress for crack generation,irradiated with threshold fluence.The numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental ones.     

1444-nm Q-switched pulse generator based on Nd:YAG/V:YAG microchip laser

Q-switched microchip laser emitting radiation at eye-safe wavelength 1444 nm was designed and realized. This laser was based on composite crystal which consists of 4 mm long Nd:YAG active medium diffusion bonded with 1 mm long V:YAG saturable absorber. The diameter of the composite crystal was 5 mm. The initial transmission of the V:YAG part was T ₀ = 94% @ 1440 nm. The microchip resonator consists of dielectric mirrors, directly deposited onto the composite crystal surfaces. These mirrors were specially designed to ensure desired emission at 1444 nm and to prevent parasitic lasing at other Nd³⁺ transmissions. The output coupler with reflectivity 94% for the generated wavelength 1444 nm was placed on the V³⁺-doped part. The laser was operating under pulsed pumping for the duty-cycle up to 50%. With increasing value of mean pumping power a strong decrease of generated pulse length was observed. The shortest generated pulses were 4.2 ns long (FWHM). Stable pulses with energy 34 μJ were generated with repetition rate up to 1.5 kHz. Corresponding pulse peak power was 8.2 kW. The wavelength of linearly polarized TEM₀₀ laser mode was fixed to 1444 nm.     

Growth of large microcones in steel under multipulsed Nd:YAG laser irradiation

We report the growth of conical microstructure arrays on a stainless steel substrate under multi-pulsed Nd:YAG laser irradiation (wavelength of 1.064 μm, pulse duration of 300 ns, repetition rate of 5 kHz) at atmospheric air pressure. The average period of microcones is 70 μm, and they protrude 50–60 μm above the substrate. At an air pressure of 1 Pa, the well-defined conical shape is lost and the resulting microstructure shows a smaller period and height. At 10^-3 Pa, only small protrusions separated by about 5 μm are observed. The different mechanisms involved in the growth of conical microstructures are discussed. PACS 42.62.-b; 81.65.-b     

用于锁模Nd：YAG激光器的单脉冲开关

 锁模Nd:YAG激光器选取单脉冲时，通常采用KD*P普克尔盒。 波长1.06μm的激光半波电压为6.6kV。应用冷阴极闸流管KN-22作为开关线路比较广泛，但近年来我们改用MOS场效应管线路代替KN-22，该线路性能稳定可靠，输出脉冲幅度为－6.6～－8kV，脉冲宽度5～10ns可调，触发晃动小于0.5ns，触发延时30～40ns，单脉冲选出率为100％。经长时间使用未发现异常，此线路也可在削波器及脉冲剪切等技术中应用。     

Experimental study of high-power pulse side-pumped Nd:YAG laser

The paper reports on the characterization of a compact and simple side-pumped 0.538 J×100 Hz pulse Nd:YAG laser. A side-pumping configuration with 100 laser diode bars is used in the laser head. We also experimentally studied the laser performance of the diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser head in the free running and Q-switched operation under different repetition rates.     

Pump pulse characteristics of quasi-continuous-wave diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG laser

The influence of pumping laser pulse on the property of quasi-continuous-wave (QCW) diode-side-pumped Nd:YAG laser is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Under remaining a fixed duty cycle, the average output power increases, and the corresponding thermal focal length shorten with the increase of the pump pulse duration, which attributes to the decrease of the ratio of pulse buildup time to the pulse duration. At a pump power of 146 W, the laser output power changes from 65.1 W to 81.2 W when the pulse duration is adjusted from 150 μ s to 1000 μ s, confirming a significant enhancement of 24.7%. A laser rate equation model incorporating the amplified spontaneous emission is also utilized and numerically solved, and the simulated results agree well with the experimental data.     

脉宽易变的高功率Nd:YAG激光器

本文描述一台由两级Nd:YAG激光器组成的紧凑高功率激光系统的结构及其工作性能。激光系统分成三个部分:对撞脉冲式的主-被动锁模振荡器,单脉冲选择器和四程放大器。振荡器输出锁模脉冲列的包络幅度起伏小于±4％,其脉冲宽度可以在宽范围内(20ps～2.5ns)方便地切换。对于单个0.1mJ、200ps的激光脉冲,四程放大器能提供7×10~2的放大倍数。     

重复频率脉冲激光作用下膜内包裹物对损伤阈值的影响

利用介质薄膜中包裹物的热理论模型,结合S.Papernov 等利用电子束蒸发技术在熔融石英上沉积含Au包裹物的HfO2薄膜实验,得出Au的吸收截面。以包裹物Au为例,计算了脉冲激光作用下不同包裹物半径对损伤阈值的影响,分析了重复率脉冲激光作用下薄膜损伤阈值的变化及重复频率与激光损伤阈值的关系。结果表明：随着包裹物半径的增加,激光损伤阈值先减小,接着增加而后再减小。激光损伤阈值与脉冲宽度的0.4次方成正比。随着脉冲重复频率的增加,激光损伤阈值单调下降,产生损伤所需的最小脉冲数则单调上升。     

重复频率脉冲激光作用下膜内包裹物对损伤阈值的影响

 利用介质薄膜中包裹物的热理论模型,结合S.Papernov 等利用电子束蒸发技术在熔融石英上沉积含Au包裹物的HfO2薄膜实验,得出Au的吸收截面。以包裹物Au为例,计算了脉冲激光作用下不同包裹物半径对损伤阈值的影响,分析了重复率脉冲激光作用下薄膜损伤阈值的变化及重复频率与激光损伤阈值的关系。结果表明：随着包裹物半径的增加,激光损伤阈值先减小,接着增加而后再减小。激光损伤阈值与脉冲宽度的0.4次方成正比。随着脉冲重复频率的增加,激光损伤阈值单调下降,产生损伤所需的最小脉冲数则单调上升。     

Nd:YAG 1319 nm三纵模脉冲激光器设计分析

NdYAG最强的跃迁发生在 1 064 nm,其荧光线宽大多为4～6 cm-1,故NdYAG激光器通常将产生 1 064 nm多纵模输出.为获得1 319 nm输出,对主要元件的特殊膜层进行了设计,从而抑制了其他波长在腔内的振荡.讨论了标准具的波长调谐和纵模选择特性,通过调整标准具的倾角实现了对波长的调谐,通过两块厚度不同的标准具组合实现了3个连续纵模的选择,这样使得1 319 nm激光器能获得3个连续纵模的输出.     

Q开关Nd:YAG脉冲激光对红外滤光片的损伤效应

 介绍了由滤光片膜层结构决定的激光在光学薄膜中形成温度场及驻波场特性。用1.06μm调Q Nd:YAG激光器，在激光脉冲宽度10ns和光斑直径0.61μm的条件下，进行了激光辐照红外滤光片的损伤特性实验研究。根据脉冲激光辐照红外滤光片后样品损伤分析，发现滤光片的最初损伤发生在里面的膜层中，从而在实验上验证了计算得到的滤光片膜层中存在其温度场及驻波场的结果。它对提高红外滤光片的抗激光辐照能力研究具有一定的参考价值。     

Comparison of laser performance of electro-optic Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic/single crystal laser

An electro-optic Q-switched Nd:YAG ceramic laser operating at kHz repetition rate was demonstrated.Thermal induced lens' focus of ceramic rod was measured and compensated by plano-convex cavity structure. Depolarization loss at different output powers was measured in Nd:YAG single crystal and ceramic lasers. High-energy high-beam-quality laser pulse output was obtained in both laser structures. Pulse energy of about 20 mJ and pulse width of less than 12 ns were achieved, and the average power reached 20 W. The divergence of output laser beam was less than 1.2 mrad, and the beam propagation factor M2was about 1.4.     

A diode side-pumped YAG/Nd:YAG/YAG composite crystal laser

A diode-bar side-pumped YAG/Nd:YAG/YAG composite crystal laser is presented. A maximum output power of 18.4 W at 1.064 μm with a slop efficiency of 57% and an optical-optical conversion efficiency of 46% was obtained for a pump power of 40 W. Compared with a side-pumped conventional crystal laser in the same experimental conditions, the side-pumped composite crystal laser improved the optical-to-optical conversion efficiency by 12%. Experimental results indicate that a composite crystal can depress the thermal effects effectively and improve the optical-to-optical conversion efficiency easily in the diode side-pumped lasers. The composite crystal has great potential in high-power diode side-pumped lasers.     

An automatically controlled Nd:YAG laser with variable pulse width

The development of a high-energy, pulsed Nd:YAG laser system for materials-processing and medical applications is reported here. A variable pulse width in the range of 0.3–10 ms and a variable pulse repetition rate up to 50 pps are provided. An automatic operation system using a microprocessor-based driver/ controller enables safe operation of the laser system and automatic material processing when integrated in a laser/robot system.     

Moving perforation of rocks using long pulse Nd:YAG laser

Laser perforating is a new method in oil and gas wells where researchers look for an alternative to explosive methods. One of the important problems with this method is the generation of uniform and cylindrical holes at a selected pitch for enhancing the permeability of rocks. In non-moving laser perforation, the nozzle of the laser and the rock do not approach each other and due to laser convergence in a point, uniform and cylindrical holes are not created. For this reason, moving laser perforation is suggested in this research. One of the important parameters in moving laser perforation is the power of the laser that can be perforated at a specific rate. In this article we predicted the laser power for a definite rate of perforation (ROP) and then the accuracy of this prediction was evaluated to support the experiments. A pulsed Nd: YAG laser, with a pulse energy around 5.5 J, pulse repetition rate of 30 Hz and pulse duration of 2 ms were used for rock perforation in this study. The results shows that the presented relation for perforation could reliably be used in practice. Furthermore, by knowing the rate of perforation, the required laser power for consistent drilling could be calculated.     

Compact corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab laser

Corner-pumping is a new pumping scheme in diode-pumped all-solid-state lasers, having such advantages as high pump efficiency, favorable pump uniformity and low cost. Compact corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab lasers at 1064 nm with low or medium output powers and high efficiency are demonstrated in this paper. Combined with intracavity frequency doubling by a LBO crystal, a corner-pumped Nd:YAG/YAG composite slab 532 nm green laser with a stable output is realized successfully. The experimental results show that corner-pumping can reduce laser costs greatly, release the thermal effects of slab crystals and improve the output beam quality, and that the new pumping scheme is feasible in the design of diode-pumped all-solid-state lasers with low or medium output powers.