Generation of high-power terahertz pulses in a prism

A compact, high-power emitter of half-cycle terahertz (THz) radiation is demonstrated. The device consists of an epitaxial InAs emitter upon a GaAs prism and produces THz pulses that are 20 times more powerful than those from conventional planar InAs emitters. This improvement is a direct result of reorienting the transient THz dipole such that its axis is not perpendicular to the emitting surface.     

Generation and amplification of nanosecond pulses by iodine lasers

Results are reported of experimental investigations of high-power photodissociation iodine laser pumped by lamps and by radiation from high-current electric discharges. The basic parameters of the working medium, the parameters of both lamp-pumped and discharge-pumped lasers, and methods of shaping of a short pulse with diffraction directivity of the radiation are investigated. The possibility of effective amplification of a short pulse by an iodine amplifier pumped with an open high-current discharge is demonstrated. An iodine laser generating a pulse of duration I nsec, divergence 10^-4 rad, and energy 100 J at a contrast 10⁸ and 300 J at a contrast 10²–10³ is described.Translated from Trudy Ordena Lenina Fizicheskogo Instituta im. P. N. Lebedeva, Akademii Nauk SSSR, Vol. 125, 46–103, 1980.     

Simple generation of high-power,picosecond, tunable excimer laser pulses

A single excimer laser (a modified commercial oscillation-amplifier combination) is used to pump a dye laser generating a single ps pulse at twice the excimer wavelength and to amplify the frequency-doubled pulse to high peak powers. With XeCl at 308 nm an output pulse energy of 10 mJ with <5 ps pulse width was achieved with <5% ASE energy.     

Study on improving output capability of high-power lasers providing short pulses by using different laser glasses together in the amplifier chain

We have discussed the optical and laser properties of different laser glass types. According to the properties of the gain and the B integral in the high-power laser amplifier chain, an optimal configuration is pointed out to improve the output capability at short pulses based on reducing nonlinear refractive index n₂. In this way, high gain glasses and low n₂ glasses are used in different amplifier stages simultaneously. The simulated results show that on the condition that the maximal output energies of both the configurations are same at 3 and 5 ns, the maximal output capability growth ratio of 30.48% () and 42.24% () for the optimal configuration can be obtained at 1 ns, respectively.     

Generation of nanosecond pulses in a barrier-discharge XeBr excimer lamp

The subject of investigation is the coaxial two-barrier short-pulse excimer lamp based on XeBr* molecules (λ = 282 nm). When the working mixture (Xe: Br₂ = 70: 1) is excited by a high-voltage pulsed nanosecond discharge at a pressure of 1 atm, the peak power of the generated radiation is on the order of 100 kW at an FWHM of 4.5 ns. If the gap between the barriers is small, a train of pulses with an FWHM of 20 ns and a repetition rate of 200 kHz may be obtained.     

Generation of multiply charged silicon and germanium ions by excimer laser pulses

Plasma bursts were produced by focusing excimer-laser (XeCl, 308 nm) pulses on Ge and Si targets. At moderate laser fluences (30 MW/cm²) high-intensity Ge³⁺ and Si³⁺ ion pulses were extracted from the laser-produced plasma. A peculiar electrical circuit allows a self-bunching of the beam. By time-of-flight method, the currents produced by the ions of different charge number were measured. Peak currents of 620 mA and 800 mA were recorded for Ge³⁺ and Si³⁺ ions, respectively, with an extraction voltage of only 400 V.     

Generation of ultra-short pulses from high-gain narrow-linewidth lasers

Modified type mode-locking with many passive-mode excitation has been proposed to generate ultra-short light pulses from high-gain narrow-linewidth lasers, The mode-locking with single-active-mode (MLSAM) which is the useful and practical case of the modified type mode-locking has been analyzed taking into account the effect of large locking signal and the variation of the saturated gain along the light path. An experiment has been done by applying a 580 MHz large FM locking signal to a He-Ne 3.39 μm laser, a typical high-gain narrow-linewidth laser. As a result, 170 ps pulses have been obtained with several mW average power.     

Theory of the interaction of high-power short laser pulses with plasmas

A theory of the interaction of short laser pulses with plasmas is constructed based on the previously developed kinetic theory of a tenuous plasma. The generation of fast electrons by a relativistically strong femtosecond laser pulse in a plasma with a nearly critical density is investigated. The results obtained agree with the results from particle-in-cell simulations and with the experimental data.     

Ion synthesis of copper nanoparticles in sapphire and their modification by high-power excimer laser pulses: A review

Composite layers made in sapphire by implantation of 40-keV Cu⁺ ions at a dose of 1 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻² and an ion beam current density varying from 2.5 to 10 μA/cm² are studied. It is shown that ion implantation makes it possible to synthesize a composite layer containing copper nanoparticles at the surface of the insulator. However, the nanoparticle size distribution in this layer is nonuniform. The composite layer is exposed to high-power excimer laser radiation with the aim of modifying the size and size distribution of the metal nanoparticles in it. The resulting structures are examined by Rutherford backscattering, optical reflection spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. It is found that the laser irradiation diminishes copper nanoparticles in the composite layer. Experimental data on laser modification may be explained by photofragmentation and/or melting of the nanoparticles in the sapphire matrix under the action of nanosecond laser pulses.     

Generation and reception of short acoustic pulses by multilayer piezoelectric transducers

By means of the Fourier transformation, a formula is obtained for calculating the pulse response of a transducer when a square pulse of a given duration is supplied to its input and the excited “sound” is reflected from the free flat end of the acoustic line and returns to the transducer. For a frequency of 100 MHz, real lithium niobate transducers that are connected through intermediate layers to the acoustic line made of fused quartz and to a rear load with a given acoustic impedance are considered. The pulse response is calculated for the transducers with different values of the sublayer thickness, rear acoustic load, transmission line impedance, and original pulse duration. The results of the calculations are compared with the experiment.     

Generation of picosecond pulses in solid-state lasers using new active media

Results are reported of investigations aimed at generating nanosecond radiation pulses in solid-state lasers using new active media having broad gain lines. Passive mode locking is accomplished for the first time in a BeLa:Nd³⁺ laser at a wavelength 1.354 m, and in a YAG:Nd³⁺ laser on a 1.32–m transition. The free lasing and mode-locking regimes were investigated in an alexandrite (BeAl²O₄:Cr³⁺) laser in the 0.72–0.78–m range and in a synchronously pumped laser on F 2- centers in LiF in the 1.12–1.24–m region. The features of nonlinear perception of IR radiation by the eye, using a developed picosecond laser on F₂ ^– centers, are investigated for the first time.Translated from Lazernye Sistemy, pp. 67–86, 1982.     

Gravitational effects induced by high-power lasers

The gravitational field produced by a high-power laser is calculated according to the linearized Einstein field equation in weak field approximation. It is found that when a probe pulse propagates in the above gravitational field, the gravitational Faraday effect and defocusing phenomenon of the probe pulse are induced by the gradient of the energy density of the high-power laser pulse. The rotating angle of the polarization plane of the probe pulse and the variation of its light intensity are derived. The results are discussed and estimated under the conditions of our present experiment facility. PACS 04.40.-b, 04.80.Cc     

Collimation tester for ultrashort pulses and short coherence length lasers

A simple and easy-to-use collimation tester suitable for short coherence length lasers is described. The device is based on shearing interferometry using a compensation plate that enables a zero path length difference of the interfering beams and can be used for lasers of virtually vanishing coherence length, such as found in fs-lasers and high-power multimode lasers.     

Generation of single intense short optical pulses by ultrafast molecular phase modulation

Pulses with durations below 4 fs have been generated using the method of ultrafast molecular phase modulation. A laser pulse shorter than the molecular vibrational or rotational period obtains spectral broadening during propagation along a hollow waveguide filled with previously impulsively excited Raman active gases. The induced time dependent phase, frequency, and frequency chirp are controllable by changing the delay between excitation and probe pulse within the molecular vibrational period.     

Generation and measurement of frequency-tunable picosecond pulses from dye lasers

Experimental techniques for the generation of frequency-tunable picosecond pulses from passively mode-locked dye lasers are reviewed. Direct photoelectric measurements of pulse durations with a streak-camera of time resolution <3 ps are described. Recent studies of the build-up of pulse shortening and of saturable absorber photochemistry are discussed and related to the mode-locking processes in dye lasers.     

Generation of multiple pulses with extremely short pulse repetitioninterval

A new type of multipulse generator is proposed for the generation of high power pulses with an extremely short interpulse repetition interval. In this system, an air-core step-up transformer is used with a magnetic switch and a pulse forming line, which is charged in the double-resonance mode. Numerical simulations of this system have shown that 600 kV, 56 ns pulses, matched to a 20 Ω impedance can be produced with a minimum pulse separation of 2.7 μs. A small system was constructed to demonstrate the production of double pulses experimentally. The system contains two first stage capacitors of 150 nF each, a 1:15 air-core step-up transformer, a magnetic switch using cobalt based material, a second stage capacitor of 1.6 nF, and an 80 Ω load. Double-pulses 100 ns wide, peak voltages of 85 kV (first pulse) and 90 kV (second pulse) have been successfully generated with an interval of 3.75 μs between pulses, when the first stage capacitors were charged to 14 kV (for the first pulse) and 17 kV (for the second pulse)     

短谐振腔准分子激光输出的脉冲特性研究

用腔长为7.5cm～20cm的紫外光预电离Blumlein横向放电泵浦XeCl准分子激光器可产生半宽为1.8ns～5ns的短脉冲输出。速率方程的计算机模拟所给出的激光振荡初始尖峰和实验结果做了比较。     

300 Femtosecond pulses at 497 nanometer generated by an excimer laser pumped cascade of distributed feedback dye lasers

The setup is a cascade of 3 lasers: A competing cavity dye laser pumped by a XeCl excimer laser, followed by two distributed feedback dye lasers. The typical durations of the pulses from the lasers are 100 ps, 5 ps, and 300 fs, respectively. The output pulses at 497 nm are amplified up to 500 MW. The shortest pulse duration obtained was 198 fs.     

Generation of picosecond optical phase conjugate pulses using cw mode-locked lasers

Low power picosecond optical phase conjugation has been demonstrated using cw mode-locked argon-ion and dye lasers via 4-wave mixing in ruby. Streak camera and power measurements show that the generated pulses are identical to the input pulses.