Problems with power content beam parameter product

The M² beam propagation factor is widely used to characterize the quality of laser radiation and its propagation. When M² is defined by the second-moments, M² ? 1 holds in the paraxial approach. For many applications it is more convenient to use the power content values (normally η = 86.5%), also proposed by ISO. For the corresponding power content factor, it is often assumed that also holds. We have demonstrated previously that for a superposition of two coherent Gauss-Laguerre modes with radial symmetry, the 86.5% value of [6]. In recent years, has also been presented experimentally for a superposition of axially shifted Gaussian beams [7]. The problems with power content for axial superposition of Gaussian beams are discussed. In this paper it is shown that the 86.5% power content value can not be smaller than one for a coherent superposition of axially shifted Gaussian beams with radial symmetry presented in Ref. [7]. A superposition of two Gaussian beams with different waists and without shift is also discussed, and the corresponding of such beam can be smaller than one, depending strongly on the power content value η. For low power content values η and a large (or very small) ratio of the two different waists approaches zero. These investigations demonstrate that is not a suitable parameter to characterize laser radiation.     

Influence of Feedback Levels on Polarized Optical Feedback Characteristics in Zeeman-Birefringence Dual Frequency Lasers

The influence of feedback levels on the intensity and polarization properties of polarized optical feedback in a Zeeman-birefringence dual frequency laser is systematically investigated. By changing the feedback power ratio, different feedback levels are obtained. Three distinct regimes of polarized optical feedback effects are found and defined as regimes Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ The feedback level boundaries among the regimes are acquired experimentally. The theoretical analysis is presented to be in good agreement with the experimental results.     

The discovery of nanometer fringes in laser self-mixing interference

We demonstrate the influences of optical feedback from an external mirror with high reflectivity in a He-Ne laser on self-mixing interference fringes and laser polarization states. When the external mirror is tilted to a certain level, the stable and uniform nanometer resolution fringes are generated. The fringe density is 40 times than that of the conventional self-mixing interference or two beam interference, and has still potential to be improved. Each self-mixing interference fringe corresponds to λ/80 displacement of the external mirror, i.e. 7.91 nm displacement of the external mirror. Moreover, when the movement direction of the external mirror is changed, the polarization flipping between two eigenstates will happen. The potential applications of the results are also discussed.     

Layout and performance of the Asterix IV iodine laser at MPQ,Garching

In this paper, the design procedure and the performance of the single beam Asterix IV high-power iodine laser emitting at = 1315 nm is described. It has been developed on the basis of a 10-years experience with the 1 TW Asterix III laser-system and with the support of a 1-D and a 3-D pulse propagation code. Special emphasis has been put on achieving a high overall system efficiency and a beam intensity profile as homogeneous as possible. Presently, Asterix IV provides output pulses with durations from 0.2 to several ns. At a duration of 0.4 ns, the pulse power is 3 TW and at a duration of 5 ns the pulse energy reaches 2.1 kJ. Under these conditions, the laser can be fired every twenty minutes.     

Flat-top profile of an excimer-laser beam generated using beam-splitter gratings

We present a simple solution to the beam-shaping problem in which a wide, typically rectangular spatial distribution of an excimer-laser beam should be transformed into a flat-top distribution, a few millimeters wide in both directions. The set-up can be made practically lossless and it allows the energy density of the pulse to be increased by a factor of 50. The method finds use, e.g., in pulsed laser deposition, UV lithography and micro machining.     

Output power optimisation of slab-waveguide laser with Gaussian output mirror

We present an approximate analysis of the nonlinear operation of the hollow slab-waveguide laser with Gaussian reflectivity profile output mirror, including gain saturation and longitudinal as well as transverse field distribution of the laser mode. The model presented is general and can be applied to the study of arbitrary configuration of the slab-waveguide laser. In particular, the laser characteristics obtained reveal the influence of the position of the output mirror and the Gaussian mirror parameter on the power efficiency of the laser system. Received: 6 January 2000 / Published online: 8 November 2000     

The Rydberg matter laser: excitation, delays and mode effects in the laser cavity medium

Temporal and temperature effects are studied in Rydberg matter (RM) formed from K atoms and N₂ molecules as the active medium in a cavity. The function of this setup as a laser was recently described. Temperature-variation studies show that the photons re-exciting the RM clusters usually have a longer wavelength than the photons emitted in the stimulated emission process in the cavity. The deficit is probably covered by background photons. Very long time constants observed after emitter temperature changes indicate that long-wavelength photon energy is accumulated in the RM clusters. Long-wavelength modes are located farther from the RM emitter. The modal structure can be TEM₀₁ or TEM₀₀, as observed clearly by the spatial structure in rapid pulsing experiments. The in-cavity chopped beam signal is delayed by approximately 50 μs. The initial growth rate of the signal during chopping is temperature dependent. Tailing is also observed by chopping, but rapid pulsing of the beam with a spinning mirror does not show any delay of the start of the lasing. The conclusion is that delays exist in the stimulated emission process. The broad intense band appearing at 11 000 nm is shown to be formed partly by light in the range 3500–5000 nm, probably by standing wave interaction at the grating surface (grating bands).     

Precision Controlling of Frequency Difference for Elastic-Stress Birefringence He-Ne Dual-Frequency Lasers

Birefringence-Zeeman dual frequency lasers are capable of producing frequency difference from several kilohertz to hundreds of megahertz, but the precision of giving and stabilizing of the beat frequency still needs improvement to the range of ±200kHz. We design a new elastic force-exerting device comprised of the bottom part, two arms and two pieces of force-exerting sheets. The frequency difference smoothly tuning is realized with this device in a large range of 2MHz to 20MHz. Power-balance frequency stabilization system is used to investigate characters of the temperature, frequency difference and laser power. The precision of the frequency difference has reach up to ±100kHz after system temperature balance. Analyses of the laser frequency difference and power character are carried out.     

Theoretical Strength of Face-Centred-Cubic Single Crystal Copper Based on a Continuum Model

The constitutive relation of single crystal copper based on atomistic potential is implemented to capture the nonlinear inter-atomic interactions. Uniaxial loading tests of single crystal copper with inter-atomic potential finite-element model are carried out to determine the corresponding ideal strength using the modified Born stability criteria. Dependence of the ideal strength on the crystallographic orientation is studied, and tension- compression asymmetry in ideal strength is also investigated. The results suggest that asymmetry for yielding strength of nano-materials may result from anisotropic character of crystal instability. Moreover, the results also reveal that the critical resolved shear stress in the direction of slip is not an accurate criterion for the ideal strength since it could not capture the dependence on the loading conditions and hydrostatic stress components for the ideal strength.     

A Kilowatt Radio-Frequency Excited Diffusively Cooled All-Metal Slab Waveguide CO2 Laser

A new type of rf excited diffusively cooled all-metal slab waveguide CO2 laser is presented, in which the waveguide channel is constructed by two copper side walls and two copper electrodes, and the discharge is confined in the slab waveguide channel in terms of the voltage division structure. From this type of structure, over 1 kW laser power is obtained with an efficieney of more than 13%.     

Green-Beam Generation of 40W by Use of an Intracavity Frequency-Doubled Diode Side-Pumped Nd:YAG Laser

A cw diode side-pumped Nd：YAO laser is frequency doubled to 532nm with an intracavity KTP crystal in a Vshaped arrangement, achieving an output power of 40 W corresponding to an optical-optical conversion efficiency of 9.7%. The instabilities and the M2-parameters of the laser are measured at different output powers after the beam is filtered.     

Generation of Intense THz Pulsed Lasers Pumped Strongly by CO2 Pulsed Lasers

A theoretical method dealing with two intense laser fields interacting with a three-level molecular system is proposed. A discussion is presented on the properties of the solutions for time-independent and time-dependent absorption coefficients and gain coefficient on resonance for strong laser fields, based on analytic evaluation of the rate equations for a homogeneously broadened, three-level molecular system. The pump intensity range can be estimated according to the analytic expression of pump saturation intensity. The effects of pulse width, gas pressure and path length on the energy absorbed from pump light are studied theoretically. The results can be applied to the analysis of pulsed, optically pumped terahertz lasers.     

Laser beam homogenization: Modeling and comparison with experimental results

Beam shaping and homogenization techniques are essential to optimize a large number of laser-material processing applications and laser-material interaction studies. In this paper, we present an innovative approach for modeling laser beam homogenization by means of the integration method. The numerical results are compared with experimental data, and the influence of the measurement technique is discussed. The enhancement of the homogenization capability using an asymmetric divider is also presented and discussed.     

Characteristics of a Cataphoresis He-Ca+ Recombination Laser

A cataphoretic input of calcium vapour into the active volume of pulsed He-Ca^＋ laser is designed and made. The recombination laser at 373.3 nm and the R-M transition laser at 854.6 nm are achieved experimentally with modified Blumlein circuit by high-frequency longitudinal pulsed discharge. The dependences of work parameters such as the pulse frequency, the power supply voltage and the helium pressure on laser output characteristics at 373.3nm line are measured and discussed. The maximum laser output power of 136mW and the specific power of 5.9 m W/cm^3 are obtained, respectively.     

Copper-vapour laser with silver additive

Results of experimental investigation of a pure elemental copper-vapour laser with silver additive are reported. Average output power as well laser output pulse energy increased by up to 10% with the additive. A possible mechanism of additive influence on laser output parameters is discussed.     

Offset frequency locking for nanosecond laser pulses

A method of multi-pulse discriminating frequency and high probability average value filtering is presented for offset frequency locking with ns laser pulses. In the experiment, the frequency locking for cavity-dumped CO₂ laser with 100 ns pulse width and the repetition rate of 10 kHz was studied. The precision was up to ±2 MHz at the heterodyne frequency 90 MHz. However, it is more than ±10 MHz for the single pulse discriminating frequency. This method can also be applied to laser offset frequency locking for many kinds of short pulse lasers.     

Single mode oscillation of TEA CO2 laser with an interference resonator

An effective single-longitudinal mode (SLM) pulse TEA CO₂ laser operation was demonstrated using a Michelson’s type resonator with a tilting Fabry-Perot etalon. A modified numerical model of the interference resonator was investigated for designing the laser. The experimentally measured values were found to have good agreement with the numerical model. A pulse width of about 90 ns and the maximum pulse energy of about 300 mJ were achieved at 10.59 μm in SLM and TEM₀₀ mode. The reliability of producing SLM pulses was 100% and there was no damage on the etalon. By turning the interference resonator, the SLM output was tuned 44 lines of the CO₂ spectrum.     

Intensity Tuning in Single Mode Microchip Nd：YAG Laser with External Cavity

We investigate the characteristics of intensity tuning in a single mode microchip Nd：YAG laser with an external cavity. The undulation of laser intensity in a period of A/2 change of the internal cavity length is observed. Two different optical feedback cases are performed. One is an external cavity reflector perfectly aligned and the other is an external cavity reflector tilted. However, the fluctuation frequency of laser intensity in a period of A/2 change of the internal cavity length in these two cases is found to be determined by the ratio of external cavity length to internal cavity length. Meanwhile, for the tilted external cavity, the fluctuation frequency is also related to multiple feedbacks in the tilted external cavity.     

High-energy, spatially flat-top green pump laser by beam homogenization for petawatt scale Ti:sapphire laser systems

We have demonstrated that we can homogenize the spatial profile of a high-energy green laser pulse used for pumping a petawatt scale Ti:sapphire amplifier. The second harmonic of a high-energy, large aperture Nd:glass laser system generates laser emission at a green wavelength with 75 J single pulse energy. Using a diffractive optical element for beam homogenization, we have obtained a highly spatially uniform flat-top second harmonic profile.     

Review on diode-pumped alkali vapor laser

Diode-pumped alkali vapor lasers (DPAL) are attracted much attention during recent years for its numerous potential applications. Development of DPAL is reviewed in this paper. The key techniques of DPAL are summarized and analyzed in detail, including the interactions between buffer gas and alkali vapor, pumping structure and power scaling magnification. Novel techniques used in DPAL are discussed, such as hydrocarbon-free DPAL and unstable cavity with transverse pumping. Blue-violet lasers by frequency doubling of DPAL are also introduced specifically. In addition, potential applications and the prospects of DPAL are concluded briefly.