Ultraviolet short pulses from an all-solid-state Ce:LiCAF master-oscillator power-amplifier system

Area of Science:

• Solid-state laser technology
• Quantum electronics
• Materials science

Background:

• Development of tunable ultraviolet (UV) laser sources is crucial for various scientific applications.
• Existing UV laser systems often suffer from degradation or limited tunability.
• Cerium-doped lithium calcium aluminum fluoride (Ce:LiCAF) presents a promising material for UV laser generation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a robust, all-solid-state master-oscillator-power-amplifier (MOPA) system for UV laser generation.
• To utilize the Ce:LiCAF crystal as a tunable, degradation-free laser medium.
• To achieve efficient energy extraction and high-power UV pulse generation.

Main Methods:

• An all-solid-state MOPA system was designed and constructed.
• A Ce:LiCAF master oscillator with a low-Q, short cavity was employed.
• The system was pumped by the fourth harmonic of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser.
• A single-stage, confocal, double-pass amplifier was used for power amplification.

Main Results:

• The Ce:LiCAF master oscillator generated a satellite-free 1-ns pulse under controlled pumping conditions.
• An energy extraction efficiency of 18% was achieved in the amplifier stage.
• The MOPA system successfully produced 14-mJ pulses at 289 nm with a 1-ns duration.

Conclusions:

• The developed Ce:LiCAF MOPA system offers an efficient and simple solution for generating high-energy, tunable UV pulses.
• The degradation-free nature of Ce:LiCAF makes it suitable for long-term laser operation.
• This technology has potential applications in spectroscopy, photochemistry, and medical diagnostics.