Electrically tunable Lyot filter for fast wavelength switching of diode-pumped solid-state disk lasers

Abstract

A new setup for fast wavelength switching of an Yb:YAG disk laser uses a lithium niobate Lyot filter. It is modeled by the Jones matrix formalism and it is tested experimentally. Applying a high voltage to the Lyot filter leads to stepwise wavelength switching of the laser with a minimum step size of 91 pm determined by the intra-cavity etalon ensuring longitudinal single-mode operation. The maximum step size achieved with the current driving electronics amounts to 0.6 nm at 500 Hz switching frequency. This setup shows high spatial and temporal laser beam stabilities.