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Picosecond Raman compression laser at 1530 nm with aberration compensation
O V Kulagin1, I A Gorbunov, A M Sergeev
1Institute of Applied Physics, Nizhny Novgorod 603950, Russia. ok@appl.sci‑nnov.ru
Optics Letters
|August 31, 2013
Summary
A new passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser system was developed using pulse compression techniques. This laser delivers high-energy, ultrashort pulses with excellent beam quality, overcoming thermal aberrations for improved performance.
Area of Science:
- Lasers and Photonics
- Nonlinear Optics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Development of high-power, ultrashort pulsed lasers is crucial for various scientific and industrial applications.
- Thermal aberrations in laser gain media can degrade beam quality and reduce output energy.
- Existing Q-switching techniques often face limitations in pulse energy and duration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser system with enhanced pulse energy and duration.
- To investigate and mitigate the effects of thermal aberrations in the laser gain medium.
- To achieve near-diffraction-limited beam quality in a high-repetition-rate laser system.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a master-oscillator power-amplifier configuration.
- Employed Brillouin and Raman pulse compression for shortening pulse duration.
- Investigated the impact of spherical aberration in thermally loaded Nd:YAG rods.
- Implemented a specially designed aspheric element for aberration compensation.
Main Results:
- Successfully developed a passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser operating at 100 Hz.
- Generated pulses with 50 mJ energy and approximately 30 ps duration at 1530 nm wavelength.
- Achieved near-diffraction-limited beam quality with M² ≤ 1.2.
- Demonstrated efficient compensation of spherical aberrations.
Conclusions:
- The developed laser system offers a robust platform for generating high-energy, ultrashort pulses.
- The pulse compression technique combined with aberration compensation significantly enhances laser performance.
- This work contributes to advancements in high-power ultrashort pulsed laser technology.
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