Cavity-dumped mode-locked Alexandrite laser oscillator with 100 mJ pulses stabilized by using a double trigger...

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics

Background:

• Mode-locked lasers are crucial for precise temporal control of light pulses.
• Cavity dumping is a technique to extract high-energy pulses from a laser resonator.
• Alexandrite lasers offer tunable operation in the near-infrared spectrum.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a stable mode-locked Alexandrite single pulse laser with cavity dumping.
• To enhance the energy stability of the single pulse output.
• To characterize the performance of the laser system without amplification.

Main Methods:

• Mode locking was achieved using an Acousto-Optic Modulator (AOM).
• Electro-Optic Modulator (EOM) was employed for Q-switching and cavity dumping.
• A novel double trigger system was introduced to improve energy stability.

Main Results:

• The double trigger system reduced single pulse laser energy output instability by a factor of ten compared to conventional systems.
• Single pulse energy of 100 mJ (multimode) and 12.5 mJ (single mode) were achieved.
• Pulse widths of 475 ps (multimode) and 275 ps (single mode) were recorded without a laser amplifier.

Conclusions:

• The developed mode-locked Alexandrite laser with cavity dumping and a double trigger system demonstrates significantly improved energy stability.
• The system provides high-energy, short pulses suitable for various applications.
• This work presents a robust solution for stable, high-energy pulsed laser generation.