Abstract

Two standard commercial flashlamp-pumped Nd:YAG lasers have been upgraded to "pulse-burst" capability. Each laser produces a burst of up to fifteen 2 J Q-switched pulses (1064 nm) at repetition rates 1–12.5 kHz. Variable pulse-width drive (0.15–0.39 ms) of the flashlamps is accomplished by IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) switching of electrolytic capacitor banks. Direct control of the laser Pockels cell drive enables optimal pulse energy extraction, and up to four 2 J laser pulses during one flashlamp pulse. These lasers are used in the Thomson scattering plasma diagnostic system on the MST reversed-field pinch to study the dynamic evolution of the electron temperature.

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