Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Axenson, Theresa J..
Room temperature Ho:YAG and Ho:LuAG lasers pumped by a Tm:YLF laser demonstrated a 3.4 mJ threshold and 0.41 slope efficiency, incident optical to laser output energy. Results for numerous rod lengths, Ho concentrations, and output mirror reflectivities are presented.
An innovative approach to obtaining high energy at 946 nm has yielded 101 mJ of laser energy with an optical-to-optical slope efficiency of 24.5%. A single gain module resonator was evaluated, yielding a maximum output energy of 50 mJ. In order to obtain higher energy a second gain module was incorporated into the resonator. This innovative approach produced un-surprised output energy of 101 mJ. This is of utmost importance since it demonstrates that the laser output energy scales directly with the number of gain modules. Therefore, higher energies can be realized by simply increasing the number of gain modules within the laser oscillator. The laser resonator incorporates two gain modules into a folded "M-shaped" resonator, allowing a quadruple pass gain within each rod. Each of these modules consists of a diode (stack of 30 microlensed 100 Watt diode array bars, each with its own fiber lens) end-pumping a Nd:YAG laser rod. The diode output is collected by a lens duct, which focuses the energy into a 2 mm diameter flat to flat octagonal pump area of the laser crystal. Special coatings have been developed to mitigate energy storage problems, including parasitic lasing and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), and encourage the resonator to operate at the lower gain transition at 946 nm.
Space based coherent lidar for global wind measurement requires an all solid state laser system with high energy, high efficiency and narrow linewidth that operates in the eye safe region. A Q-switched, diode pumped Ho:Tm:YLF 2 micrometer laser with output energy of as much as 125 mJ at 6 Hz with an optical-to-optical efficiency of 3% has been reported. Single frequency operation of the laser was achieved by injection seeding. The design of this laser is being incorporated into NASA's SPARCLE (SPAce Readiness Coherent Lidar Experiment) wind lidar mission. Laser output energy ranging from 500 mJ to 2 J is required for an operational space coherent lidar. We previously developed a high energy Ho:Tm:YLF master oscillator and side pumped power amplifier system and demonstrated a 600-mJ single frequency pulse at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. Although the output energy is high, the optical-to-optical efficiency is only about 2%. Designing a high energy, highly efficient, conductively cooled 2-micrometer laser remains a challenge. In this paper, the preliminary result of an end-pumped amplifier that has a potential to provide a factor 3 of improvement in the system efficiency is reported.