Abstract
Optical triggering via direct bleaching of a Cr:YAG saturable absorber was applied to a monolithic Nd:YAG/Cr:YAG laser crystal. The method uses a single laser diode bar to bleach a thin sheet within the saturable absorber from a direction orthogonal to the lasing axis. By placing the Q-switch at the time corresponding to the steepest slope (dT/dt) for change in transmission during bleaching, the pulse-to-pulse timing jitter showed a 13.2x reduction in standard deviation, from 132 ns for free-running operation to 10 ns with optical triggering. We measured that a fluence of 60 kW/cm(2) was sufficient to enable optical triggering, where a diode appropriately sized for the length of the Cr:YAG (approximately 3 mm) would then require only approximately 150 W of optical power over a 1-2 micros duration to enable effective jitter reduction. Additionally, we measured an increase in optical-to-optical efficiency with optical triggering, where the efficiency improved from 12% to 13.5%.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
