Synchronous amplification of subpicosecond
The research presented here includes the construction and assessment, both experimental and theoretical, of a unique high power organic dye amplifier system pumped by modelocked, frequency doubled, Nd:YAG laser pulses. Advantages of this system over previous amplifier systems pumped with longer Q-switched pulses include a higher pump energy to output energy conversion efficiency and significantly reduced amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) generation. The availability of high power, wavelength tunable, subpicosecond laser pulses has opened up a number of rapidly developing research areas in time resolved Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Quantum Optics. The design and operation of a three stage dye amplifier, which amplifies subpicosecond pulses to a peak power of 1 gigawatt, is described. Components of the system include a dye oscillator, which produces optical pulses at 605 nm as short as 70 femtoseconds, and two Nd:YAG laser systems, each of which is capable of preparing the ultrashort synchronized pump pulses used to drive the three stage dye amplifier. A theory that models the behavior of a dye amplifier system under ultrashort pulse excitation has been developed. Because no steady state gain assumption is included, the theory can predict the transient gain, and results are compared to experiment. The theory is also used to predict saturation behavior of the amplifier including pulse broadening. A theoretical comparison of amplifiers pumped with modelocked pump pulses and Q-switched pump pulses is also presented.
- Research Organization:
- Rochester Univ., NY (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5368253
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Synchronously pumped subpicosecond dye oscillator--amplifier system
Design and performance of a high-power, synchronized Nd:YAG--dye laser system