High-energy, high-repetition-rate picosecond pulses from a quasi-CW diode-pumped Nd:YAG system

Opt Lett. 2013 Aug 15;38(16):3021-3. doi: 10.1364/OL.38.003021.

Abstract

We report on a high-power quasi-CW pumped Nd:YAG laser system, producing 130 mJ, 64 ps pulses at 1064 nm wavelength with a repetition rate of 300 Hz. Pulses from a Nd:YVO(4) oscillator are first amplified by a regenerative amplifier to the millijoule level and then further amplified in quasi-CW diode-pumped Nd:YAG modules. Pulsed diode pumping enables a high gain at repetition rates of several hundred hertz, while keeping thermal effects manageable. Birefringence compensation and multiple thermal-lensing-compensated relay-imaging stages are used to maintain a top-hat beam profile. After frequency doubling, 75 mJ pulses are obtained at 532 nm. The intensity stability is better than 1.1%, which makes this laser an attractive pump source for a high-repetition-rate optical parametric amplification system.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Lasers, Solid-State*
  • Normal Distribution
  • Optical Phenomena*
  • Time Factors