Monolithic passively Q-switched Cr:Nd:GSGG microlaser.
Optical firing sets need miniature, robust, reliable pulsed laser sources for a variety of triggering functions. In many cases, these lasers must withstand high transient radiation environments. In this paper we describe a monolithic passively Q-switched microlaser constructed using Cr:Nd:GSGG as the gain material and Cr{sup 4+}:YAG as the saturable absorber, both of which are radiation hard crystals. This laser consists of a 1-mm-long piece of undoped YAG, a 7-mm-long piece of Cr:Nd:GSGG, and a 1.5-mm-long piece of Cr{sup 4+}:YAG diffusion bonded together. The ends of the assembly are polished flat and parallel and dielectric mirrors are coated directly on the ends to form a compact, rugged, monolithic laser. When end pumped with a diode laser emitting at -807.6 nm, this passively Q-switched laser produces -1.5-ns-wide pulses. While the unpumped flat-flat cavity is geometrically unstable, thermal lensing and gain guiding produce a stable cavity with a TEM{sub 00} gaussian output beam over a wide range of operating parameters. The output energy of the laser is scalable and dependent on the cross sectional area of the pump beam. This laser has produced Q-switched output energies from several {micro}J per pulse to several 100 {micro}J per pulse with excellent beam quality. Its short pulse length and good beam quality result in high peak power density required for many applications such as optically triggering sprytrons. In this paper we discuss the design, construction, and characterization of this monolithic laser as well as energy scaling of the laser up to several 100 {micro}J per pulse.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 968430
- Report Number(s):
- SAND2005-4443C; TRN: US200924%%482
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Proposed for presentation at the SPIE Optics and Photonics Conference held July 31-August 4, 2005 in San Diego, CA.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Natural Gas Engine Performance Ignited by a Passively Q-Switched Microlaser
Investigation of a passively Q-switched Raman laser at 1176 nm with Nd{sup 3+}:YAG/Cr{sup 4+}:YAG/YAG composite crystal and a coupled cavity