Long-pulse generation with a stable-relaxation-oscillation Nd:YLF laser

Area of Science:

• Laser Physics
• Quantum Optics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Generating long-pulse, high-energy laser light is crucial for various scientific applications.
• Traditional methods often face challenges with pulse shortening during amplification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a simple technique for generating long-duration pulses from neodymium lasers.
• To achieve high pulse energies with saturated amplification without pulse shortening.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a normal-mode oscillator operated in a single transverse mode to produce relaxation oscillations.
• Isolating a single subpulse from these oscillations for subsequent amplification.
• Employing a Nd:YLF laser system with an oscillator and a 64-mm amplifier.

Main Results:

• Successfully generated long pulses with durations of 0.2-2 microseconds.
• Achieved pulse energies exceeding 100 mJ.
• Demonstrated a small-signal gain of 630.
• The subpulse temporal profile proved ideal for saturated amplification, preventing pulse shortening.

Conclusions:

• The demonstrated technique offers a simple and effective method for long-pulse generation with neodymium lasers.
• The isolated subpulse temporal profile is highly suitable for high-energy amplification applications.
• This approach overcomes limitations of pulse shortening in laser amplification.