Abstract
A study of using a single crystal photo-elastic modulator for active Q-switching of a fiber laser is presented. The modulator, which oscillates in a longitudinal eigenmode, was realized with LiTaO(3). This induces due to the photo-elastic effect a modulated artificial birefringence which modulates the polarization of passing light. When used together with a polarizer inside a laser cavity the laser photon life time is strongly modulated and the laser may start to emit laser pulses. We realized this with a fiber laser based on a 5m long double clad Nd-doped fiber. The pulse repetition frequency was 400 kHz and the pulse duration 300ns.
Highlights
Pulsed laser operation is of utmost importance for many applications in manufacturing and medicine
In case of passive Q-switching of fiber lasers different types of elements can be used such as a saturable absorber based on dye [1], crystal [2,3], doped fiber [4] or semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror (SESAM) that incorporates an additional two-photon absorber [5] and others
The main idea of the experimental setup is to test a single crystal photo-elastic modulator (SCPEM) incorporated into the laser cavity as a Q-switch
Summary
Pulsed laser operation is of utmost importance for many applications in manufacturing and medicine. One important method to produce short and strong laser pulses is Q-switching This method uses inside the laser cavity an optical switch, which blocks the optical light path while energy is pumped to the gain medium. When this switch suddenly opens all stored energy is rapidly converted to a strong light pulse. For Q-switching we introduce a new kind of photo-elastic modulator based on a single crystal photo-elastic modulator (SCPEM). It relies like acousto-optics modulators on photoelasticity, but modulates polarization instead of beam direction. In this paper some theory of a SCPEM and the results from an experiment with a SCPEM inside a laser resonator based on a double clad active core fiber are presented
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
