Two stage Innoslab amplifier for energy scaling from 100 to >500  mJ for future lidar applications

Area of Science:

• Lasers and Photonics
• Optical Engineering

Background:

• Developing high-energy, high-beam-quality lasers is crucial for advanced remote sensing.
• Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA) systems offer a path to high pulse energy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and build a technology demonstrator for future lidar applications.
• To evaluate the performance of an Innoslab-based amplifier system for high pulse energy generation.

Main Methods:

• A stable Nd:YAG oscillator was coupled with two Innoslab amplifier stages.
• The Innoslab design was geometrically scaled to achieve higher pulse energies.
• Single longitudinal mode operation was maintained throughout amplification.

Main Results:

• The Nd:YAG-MOPA system demonstrated over 500 mJ pulse energy at 1064 nm and 100 Hz.
• The second amplifier stage achieved >23% optical efficiency with excellent beam quality.
• Pulse duration was approximately 30 ns in single longitudinal mode.

Conclusions:

• The developed Nd:YAG-MOPA system is a viable technology demonstrator for future lidar.
• Geometrical scaling of Innoslab amplifiers can effectively increase pulse energy while maintaining performance.
• The system shows promise for high-power laser applications requiring excellent beam quality.