Mathematical modeling of hybrid CO2 laser

A Teller–Landau six-temperature model describing the dynamic emission of single-mode TEA CO₂ laser has been adapted. This model has been also used to describe the mechanism of obtaining relatively high-power output pulses from hybrid TE-TEA or CW-TEA CO₂ laser consisting of high- and low-pressure sections. The suggested mathematical model allows to investigate the mechanism which limits the TEA oscillation to single longitudinal mode (SLM) due to the narrow gain bandwidth of low-pressure section, and also to study the effect of the laser input parameters on the smooth output laser pulse parameters. In addition, numerical solutions of non-linear rate equation system of the suggested model are quantitatively discussed. The solutions describe the radiation field intensity, the population inversion, and the energy transfer processes. The calculated values of maximum peak power, total energy in pulse, pulse width, etc. are in a very good agreement with the observed experimental values.     

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.     

Laser mode selection in reflective multipass optical cavity

The performance of a simple resonator that couples a reflective multipass interferometer cavity and a Fabry-Pérot etalon to obtain high efficiency tunable single-longitudinal mode (SLM) oscillation in a TEA CO₂ laser is reported. A numerical model of the resonator was explained to predict the mode behavior of the laser as well as to optimize the resonator to achieve SLM operation, and the predicted mode characters are experimentally verified.     

Single longitudinal mode pulse from a TEA CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> laser by using a three-mirror resonator with a Fabry–Pérot etalon

We present a single longitudinal mode (SLM) TEA CO₂ laser oscillation by using a three-mirror resonator with a Fabry–Pérot etalon. The etalon was inserted in the optical path taken out from the main resonator of the CO₂ laser for protecting the etalon from damage on the surface. A modified numerical model of the three- mirror resonator was investigated for design the laser. SLM pulse from the TEA CO₂ laser was achieved, and the experimentally measure values were found to have good agreement with the numerical model. The maximum pulse energy of reliable SLM emission is obtained in excess of 200 mJ at 9.57 μm. The reliability of producing SLM pulses was higher than 90%, and there was no damage on the etalon PACS  42.55.Lt; 42.60.Fc     

Enhanced efficiency of a mutually coupled parallel spark preioniser

The enhanced efficiency, almost by a factor of 9, of preionisation when the laser is self-switched by a mutually coupled parallel spark preioniser as against its conventional operation with inductively ballasted preioniser, has been demonstrated in the operation of a TEA CO₂ laser. The increased preionisation peak current due to the near ballast free operation of the mutually coupled parallel spark channels is shown to be responsible for the observed behavior.     

小型可调谐单纵模TEA CO2激光器

对在三镜腔中插入法布里-珀罗(F-P)标准具实现单纵模激光输出的方法进行了分析,计算了激光器的输出特性。设计研制了一台单纵模可调谐TEA CO2激光器。采用在三镜腔中插入F-P标准具的方法实现了单纵模激光的调谐输出。当激光器以5 Hz重复频率运转时,得到9P(16)谱线能量大于200 mJ,脉冲宽度约为150 ns。     

Generation of tunable picosecond pulses in a simple distributed feedback dye laser under N2-laser pumping

Simple possibility of single tunable picosecond pulse generation in a conventional inexpensive distributed feedback dye laser (DFDL) is demonstrated. It is shown that when a TEA N₂-laser is used for pumping no diffraction grating is necessary in the DFDL optical scheme for operation in the picosecond regime. Hence wide-range spectral tuning from 357 to 665 nm was easily achieved. When pumped with a 0.6 ns 40 kW pulse of the TEA N₂-laser the DFDL generated pulses as short as 7 ps with time-bandwidth product better than 0.6 and peak power ? 10 kW. At a repetition rate of 50 pps the shot-to-shot energy stability of a single picosecond pulse was ±18% at ±7% stability of the TEA N₂-laser.     

Stimulated rotational Raman scattering at multiwavelength under tea CO2 laser pumping with a multiple-pass cell

Stimulated rotational Raman scattering (SRRS) at multiwavelength pumped by TEA CO₂ laser was demonstrated in this paper. Raman mediums were cooled by liquid-N₂ and a multiple-pass cell (MPC) with 25 passes was designed and used. When the para-H2 was pumped by single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) circular polarized TEA CO₂ laser on 10P(20), 9P(20), and 10R(20), 50 mJ 16.95 μm, 350 mJ 14.44 μm, and 536 mJ 16.9 μm radiations were obtained, corresponding to energy conversion efficiency of 1.2, 11.7, and 13.4%, respectively. When the ortho-D₂ was pumped by CO₂ laser on 10R(18), 108 mJ 12.57 μm Raman laser was obtained with energy conversion efficiency of 2.9%.     

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.     

10 kW cavity operation of a submillimetre CH3F laser

Operation of a CH₃F laser at 496μ has been obtained in a hemispherical optical cavity pumped by up to 42 J of 9.55μ CO₂ TEA laser radiation. Highly modulated 1μ pulses delivering 6 mJ at peak powers greater than 10 kW have been recorded.     

Noncollinear phase-matched four-photon mixing of CO2 laser radiation in germanium

Noncollinear four photon mixing of two TEA CO₂ laser beams in germanium at room temperature has been used to obtain phase-matched generation of step tunable radiation in the 8.7 μm region which is of interest for the uranium isotope separation. Using an 8.3 cm long crystal of germanium, peak output power of ≈10kW (corresponding to 1 mJ per pulse) was obtained at 8.7 μm with 3 MW peak input power from each of the two CO₂ lasers operating at 9.6 μm and 10.6 μm.     

Stable single longitudinal mode erbium-doped silica fiber laser based on asymmetric linear three-cavity structure

We present a stable linear-cavity single longitudinal mode (SLM) erbium-doped silica fiber laser. It consists of four fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) directly written in a section of photosensitive erbium-doped fiber (EDF) to form asymmetric three-cavity structure. The stable SLM operation at a wavelength of 1545.112 nm with a 3-dB bandwidth of 0.012 nm and an optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of about 60 dB is verified experimentally. In laboratory condition, the performance of power fluctuation of less than 0.05 dB observed from the power meter for 6 h and wavelength variation of less than 0.01 nm obtained from the optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) for about 1.5 h are demonstrated. The gain fiber length is no longer limited to only several centimeters for SLM operation because of the excellent mode-selecting ability of the asymmetric three-cavity structure. The proposed scheme provides a simple and cost-effective approach to realizing a stable SLM fiber laser.     

Stable single longitudinal mode erbium-doped silica fiber laser based on an asymmetric linear three-cavity structure

We present a stable linear-cavity single longitudinal mode (SLM) erbium-doped silica fiber laser. It consists of four fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) directly written in a section of photosensitive erbium-doped fiber (EDF) to form an asymmetric three-cavity structure. The stable SLM operation at a wavelength of 1545.112 nm with a 3-dB bandwidth of 0.012 nm and an optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of about 60 dB is verified experimentally. Under laboratory conditions, the performance of a power fluctuation of less than 0.05 dB observed from the power meter for 6 h and a wavelength variation of less than 0.01 nm obtained from the optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) for about 1.5 h are demonstrated. The gain fiber length is no longer limited to only several centimeters for SLM operation because of the excellent mode-selecting ability of the asymmetric three-cavity structure. The proposed scheme provides a simple and cost-effective approach to realizing a stable SLM fiber laser.     

Effect of delay in the operation of helium-free TEA CO2 lasers with sequential and parallel spark preionisers

The operation of a helium-free TEA CO₂ laser is found to depend more sensitively on the delay between the pre and main discharges as against its conventional operation. Results pertaining to the optimum delay and the temporal shape of the emission are presented for the operation of the helium-free laser with both sequential and parallel spark-type preionisers.     

High power single-longitudinal-mode cyan laser at 500.8 nm

An all-solid-state single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) laser at 500.8 nm with 830 mW output power has been demonstrated for the first time. By using a new resonator for doubly resonant, Nd:GdVO₄ and Nd:YAG were pumped by two laser diode arrays coupled by optical fiber, respectively. In the two sub-cavities, SLM wavelengths of 1064 and 946 nm were induced by using the twisted-mode technique and then mixed into SLM 500.8 nm laser with sum-frequency technology. The SLM 500.8 nm laser output of 830 mW was obtained at the incident pump power of 20 W for Nd:GdVO₄ and 23 W for Nd:YAG. The experimental results showed that the intracavity sum-frequency mixing by twisted-mode technique is an effective method for SLM 500.8 nm laser.     

Short delay time UV preionized TEA CO2 laser operating with binary CO2/H2 and CO2/He gas mixtures

In order to obtain short tail-free output laser pulses from a TEA CO₂ laser, parametric study of the laser operation with CO₂/H₂ and CO₂/He binary gas mixtures containing high CO₂ concentrations was carried out. A small scale UV preionized short delay time TEA CO₂ laser was employed. In terms of the maximum extractable output pulse energy and power, the more conventional CO₂/He gas mixture was found to be inferior in comparison with the CO₂/H₂ mixture proposed here.     

Measurement of gas temperature in a CO2-N2-He TEA amplifier using laser interferometry

Using a laser interferometric technique changes in the refractive index at 633 nm of the pulsed discharge of a TEA CO₂-N₂-He laser amplifier have been observed. Heating of the medium by the discharge reduces the density and hence the refractive index of the gas. The peak temperature was found to be reached between 0.15 and 0.25 msec after the current pulse. For values of voltage and pressure typical for 10.6 μm laser operation a temperature of ～430 K was measured. The system returned to thermal equilibrium after 23 and 27 msec. Thermal diffusion time calculations indicate that the heating is confined to within 3 to 4 mm of the central axis.     

Effect of pump spectra and axial mode separation on the single longitudinal mode performance in end pumped solid-state lasers with semi-monolithic gain medium

We present a theoretical model to study the effect of the pump spectrum and axial mode separation on the single longitudinal mode operation of a laser with a homogeneously broadened semi-monolithic gain medium of short absorption depth. The characterizing parameter is the ratio of the pump power up to which single longitudinal mode is possible to the pump power at the lasing threshold and is denoted by r_max. A numerical study using a Gaussian-shaped pump spectrum reveals that, for a small value of the axial mode separation and for a crystal with short absorption depth at the pump wavelength, the value of r_max reduces significantly with increase in the FWHM of the pump spectrum and thereby results in degradation of the single longitudinal mode performance of the system. However, for large value of the axial mode separation, the SLM performance was found to be nearly independent of the variations in the spectral bandwidth of the pump beam, location of its peak emission wavelength and its polarization.     

Premature gain switch initiation by amplifier interaction in a TEA CO2 oscillator-amplifier laser system

It is found that a premature initiation of the gain switch in a TEA CO₂ laser oscillator is produced by optical interaction from an adjacent amplifier with the consequence that the peak oscillator power is reduced by a factor of three.     

Single transverse mode operation of a pulsed volume excited atmospheric pressure CO2 laser using an unstable resonator

The operation of a volume excited TEA CO₂ laser using an unstable resonator configuration is described. Considerable improvement over conventional single mode operation is achieved. The theoretical and experimental far field patterns are compared.