射频激励二氧化碳激光器功率控制电路原理及设计

所叙述的二氧化碳激光器内部的基本结构。包括功率控制器、射频电路等。通过对功率控制部分的研制使激光器的生产逐步实现国产化。用单片机控制电路的PWM的开关、放大、检测，将放大后的PWM送至射频激励，控制射频电路中的射频信号，从而控制激光器输出光功率的大小。     

A practical CuBr laser with flowing buffer gas

Experiments on the lifetime of a CuBr laser with flowing neon as a buffer gas are reported. The CuBr laser with a discharge tube of inner diameter 18 mm, electrode separation 465 mm at an average output power of 3 W, an efficiency of 0.4% for a lifetime of 734 h is obtained. In consideration of the flow of the buffer gas and combined structure of the discharge tube we have achieved prolongation of the laser lifetime.     

Supersonic CO2 laser excited by RF discharge in closed cycle

A supersonic gas flow having a Mach number of 2 has been realized in a closed-cycle radio-frequency (RF)-discharge-excited supersonic CO₂ laser system. Stable RF discharge at a high CO₂ gas concentration has become possible using supersonic gas flow and RF discharge generated between dielectric electrodes. As a result, high RF input power density has been obtained. In addition, a high small-signal gain has been obtained in the supersonic section through decreases in gas pressure and gas temperature due to supersonic gas flow.This revised version was published online in August 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

射频激励扩散型冷却板条波导千瓦CO激光器

报道了一种射频激励扩散型冷却千瓦 CO板条波导激光器。其上下两电极均采用液氮冷却 ,射频气体放电激励频率为 90 MHz,板条状波导增益区为 178mm(宽 )× 2 mm (高 )× 50 0 mm(长 )。气体是配比为 2 4 :71:4 :1的 CO、He、Xe、O2 混合气。所用的激光谐振腔由一个离轴虚焦非稳腔和一个平面后反馈镜构成。实验中 ,获得了 10 2 0瓦的 CO激光功率输出     

Pulse behaviour of a compact RF discharged CO2 slab laser

We present the measurements made on a medium power, 35 cm long, radio-frequency discharge CO₂ slab laser operated in a pulsed regime obtained by switching the RF discharge. In this way, pulses with peak power up to 480 W at pulse repetition frequencies in the range 1 to 10 kHz have been obtained. Pulse energy and average extracted power have been experimentally characterized with respect to the pulse repetition frequency and to the pulse duration, and the pulse shape and characteristic times have been measured. We also investigated the propagation properties of the beam emerging from our laser.     

Passively mode-locked ytterbium fiber laser utilizing chirped-fiber-Bragg-gratings for dispersion control

A robust, self-starting picosecond pulse source based on ytterbium (Yb³⁺) doped fiber laser is described. Utilizing a chirped-fiber-Bragg-grating (C-FBG) for dispersion control, solitary mode-locking is obtained without bulk dispersion compensation elements. A semiconductor saturable absorber (SESAM) is used for stable self-starting. 3.6 ps pulses are produced, with 45 MHz basic repetition-rate and mW scale average output power at 1060 nm. Detailed numerical simulations based on the modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation agree well with the experimental results and are used as a design tool for the solitary mode-locked picosecond laser. The presented design can be simply employed in an all-fiber environmentally-stable system.     

Output parameters and a spectral study of UV Cu Ne–CuBr laser

A comparative study on the temporal behaviour of the average output power of UV Cu⁺ laser with quartz and ceramic inserts is reported. Spectral investigations of the discharge are also made. The use of quartz inserts leads to some impurities introduction into the gas mixture and to an average output power reduction from 500 to 30 mW at multiline output (248.6, 252.9, 260.0 and 270.3 nm) for UV lasing of 25 h. The utilization of ceramic inserts allows to maintain relatively constant gas mixture composition and average output power of about 300 mW for 100-h.     

Mathematical modelling of gain-switched RF-excited CO2 waveguide laser

The detailed mathematical models for the evolution of light pulses in RF-excited CO2 waveguide lasers are derived. Explicit expressions for the pulse characteristics in RF-excited CO2 waveguide lasers are obtained. The effects of losses and unsaturated gain on output power are calculated.     

Multiple spectral structure of the 578.2 nm copper laser line

The multiple spectral structure of the 578.2 nm copper laser line of a CuBr laser is investigated. By considering the special hyperfine transitions of the⁶³Cu atom, the discharge disturbance and the competition of transitions, an explanation of the multiple line structure is given     

Growth and properties of KLu(WO4)2, and novel ytterbium and thulium lasers based on this monoclinic crystalline host

High‐quality crystals of monoclinic KLu(WO₄)₂, shortly KLuW, were grown with sizes sufficient for its characterization and substantial progress was achieved in the field of spectroscopy and laser operation with Yb³⁺‐ and Tm³⁺‐doping. We review the growth methodology for bulk KLuW and epitaxial layers, its structural, thermo‐mechanical, and optical properties, the Yb³⁺ and Tm³⁺ spectroscopy, and present laser results obtained in several operational regimes both with Ti:sapphire and direct diode laser pumping using InGaAs and AlGaAs diodes near 980 and 800 nm, respectively. The slope efficiencies with respect to the absorbed pump power achieved with continuous‐wave (CW) bulk and epitaxial Yb:KLuW lasers under Ti:sapphire laser pumping were ≈ 57 and ≈ 66%, respectively. Output powers as high as 3.28 W were obtained with diode pumping in a simple two‐mirror cavity where the slope efficiency with respect to the incident pump power reached ≈ 78%. Passively Q‐switched laser operation of bulk Yb:KLuW was realized with a Cr:YAG saturable absorber resulting in oscillation at ≈ 1031 nm with a repetition rate of 28 kHz and simultaneous Raman conversion to ≈ 1138 nm with maximum energies of 32.4 and 14.4 μJ, respectively. The corresponding pulse durations were 1.41 and 0.71 ns. Passive mode‐locking by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) produced bandwidth‐limited pulses with duration of 81 fs (1046 nm, 95 MHz) and 114 fs (1030 nm, 101 MHz) for bulk and epitaxial Yb:KLuW lasers, respectively. Slope efficiency as high as 69% with respect to the absorbed power and an output power of 4 W at 1950 nm were achieved with a diode‐pumped Tm:KLuW laser. The slope efficiency reached with an epitaxial Tm:KLuW laser under Ti:sapphire laser pumping was 64 %. The tunability achieved with bulk and epitaxial Tm:KLuW lasers extended from 1800 to 1987 nm and from 1894 to 2039 nm, respectively.     

Low noise, continuous-wave single-frequency 1.5-μm laser generated by a singly resonant optical parametric oscillator

We report a low noise continuous-wave (CW) single-frequency 1.5-μm laser source obtained by a singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO) based on periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN). The SRO was pumped by a CW single-frequency Nd:YVO₄ laser at 1.06 μm. The 1.02 W of CW single-frequency signal laser at 1.5 μm was obtained at pump power of 6 W. At the output power of around 0.75 W, the power stability was better than ±1.5% and no mode-hopping was observed in 30 min and frequency stability was better than 8.5 MHz in 1 min. The signal wavelength could be tuned from 1.57 to 1.59 μm by varying the PPLN temperature. The 1.5-μm laser exhibits low noise characteristics, the intensity noise of the laser reaches the shot noise limit (SNL) at an analysis frequency of 4 MHz and the phase noise is less than 1 dB above the SNL at analysis frequencies above 10 MHz.     

High spatial intensity 10 W-CuBr laser with hydrogen additives

High beam quality output has been demonstrated from a single medium-scale (2 cm dia. × 50 cm) CuBr laser with hydrogen additives. The addition of hydrogen leads to beam divergence reduction and laser power lift-up finally yielding 5-fold increase in laser power spatial intensity compared with the case of no hydrogen added. With a simple positive-branch unstable resonator practical (pulse-average) divergence of 80 rad is achieved. The easy-feasible sealed-off version of CuBr laser makes it an attractive source for many high-quality laser beam applications.     

Visible iodine and bromine laser,and coaxial discharge excited strong UV iodine laser

Nine new Br and I ion laser lines in the visible and the UV regions were observed by ordinary longitudinal pulsed discharge or coaxial pulsed discharge. This is the first time that the UV I ion laser was obtained with an output much stronger than that of ordinary pulsed ion lasers. The characteristics of the laser output were investigated in the case of coaxial discharge.     

Operational characteristics of an RF-excited CW-HGN laser

Experimental studies of an inductively coupled RF-excited CW-HCN laser have been carried out. A maximum output power of 160mW in CW at 337 μm has been obtained using a laser tube 1 m long and 55mm inner dia.     

纳秒激光诱导空气等离子体射频辐射特性研究

开展了波长为532 nm、脉宽为8 ns的纳秒激光诱导空气等离子体射频电磁辐射特性实验研究,基于锥形天线探测空气等离子体在30-800 MHz频谱范围有较强的射频电磁辐射,是等离子体内电偶极子振荡变速运动造成的.实验结果表明:随激光能量增加,30-200 MHz范围内射频辐射强度逐渐变强,但360-600 MHz频率范围射频辐射强度逐渐变弱.等离子体射频辐射的空间分布依赖于入射激光的偏振方向,当激光偏振方向与天线放置方向一致时,该方向上空气等离子体的射频辐射强度高,谱线较丰富.射频辐射总功率随激光能量先增加后降低,采用等离子体电子密度变化对等离子体频率及等离子体衰减系数影响(制约)关系,对射频辐射总功率随激光能量的变化规律进行了解释.     

隔环结构的Ne H2 CuBr激光放电管气体温度径向分布

针对溴化亚铜激光器中放电管径向温度不均匀现象，在工程设计中同时采用隔环结构放电管设计方案和溴化亚铜激光放电管充氢方案。对隔环结构及隔环结构同时充氢的CuBr激光放电管温度场进行了分析。利用简化的热流耗散泊松方程，给出了激光放电管内温度场分布的数学模型，获得了激光放电管气体温度场径向分布的解析表达式，明确了温度分布与输入电功率及缓冲气体热传导系数之间的关系，得到了与实验一致的结果，为该类激光器的实用化提供了理论分析依据。     

High-efficiency CuBr laser with interacting peaking circuits

An innovation in CuBr laser excitation causes a significant increase of the output power and laser efficiency. The novel electrical circuitry consists of two interacting peaking circuits. A comparison of the operation parameters between an ordinary-circuitry (OC) excited CuBr laser and the novel-circuitry (interacting peaking circuits, IPC) excited CuBr laser is made. An efficiency of 1.45% at 17.4 W average output of the IPC CuBr laser is obtained.     

A gigahertz tunable, high power, high repetition rate rf CO2 laser operating without He

This paper reports on a gigahertz mode-tunable waveguide CO₂ laser operating with high-pressure He-free mixtures (0.4 bar), with a long pulse (20 μs) high repetition rate (1 kHz) radio-frequency discharge. Single-mode tuning at 0.92 GHz with good mean laser linewidth (<40 MHz) and large peak power (150 W) have been obtained over 40 laser lines, with 0.3 W mean power. By using standard He reach mixtures both the laser line number and mean power are slightly increased.     

Effect of helium/argon gas ratio in a He-Ar-Cu<Superscript>+</Superscript> IR hollow-cathode discharge laser: modeling study and comparison with experiments

The He-Ar-Cu⁺ IR laser operates in a hollow-cathode discharge, typically in a mixture of helium with a few-% Ar. The population inversion of the Cu⁺ ion levels, responsible for laser action, is attributed to asymmetric charge transfer between He⁺ ions and sputtered Cu atoms. The Ar gas is added to promote sputtering of the Cu cathode. In this paper, a hybrid modeling network consisting of several different models for the various plasma species present in a He-Ar-Cu hollow-cathode discharge is applied to investigate the effect of Ar concentration in the gas mixture on the discharge behavior, and to find the optimum He/Ar gas ratio for laser operation. It is found that the densities of electrons, Ar⁺ ions, Ar_m ^* metastable atoms, sputtered Cu atoms and Cu⁺ ions increase upon the addition of more Ar gas, whereas the densities of He⁺ ions, He₂ ⁺ ions and He_m ^* metastable atoms drop considerably. The product of the calculated Cu atom and He⁺ ion densities, which determines the production rate of the upper laser levels, and hence probably also the laser output power, is found to reach a maximum around 1–5 % Ar addition. This calculation result is compared to experimental measurements, and reasonable agreement has been reached. Received: 14 October 2002 / Revised version: 28 November 2002 / Published online: 19 March 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +32-3/820-23-76, E-mail: annemie.bogaerts@ua.ac.be     

Continuous 250 watt argon ion laser

We report upon a continuously operating argon ion laser with an output power of 250 W on the visible and 17 W on the ultraviolet emission lines. The discharge tube was operated at more than 200 kW input power without degradation and time limitation Increase in laser power seems possible.