Dresden 2011 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 21: Laserentwicklung: Festkörperlaser 2
Q 21.3: Talk
Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 11:00–11:15, SCH A215
46 W regenerative amplifier based on Nd:YVO4 seeded by a gain switched diode laser — •Florian Harth1, Markus Lührmann1, Christian Theobald1, Thorsten Ulm1, Ralf Knappe2, Achim Nebel2, Andreas Klehr3, Götz Erbert3, and Johannes L’huillier1 — 1Photonik-Zentrum Kaiserslautern e.V., 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany — 2Lumera Laser GmbH, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany — 3Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, 12489 Berlin, Germany
We report on a Nd:YVO4 regenerative amplifier, end pumped by 888 nm-diode lasers. The output power was about 46 W at adjustable repetition rates from 150 to 833 kHz with a M2-factor of 1.2. The amplifier was seeded by a gain switched diode laser, generating pulses with a duration of 65 ps and a pulse energy of ∼5 pJ. The high gain of the regenerative amplifier of ∼70 dB provides amplified pulse energies as high as 180 µJ. Bifurcations of the pulse energy could be avoided without a pre-amplifier despite the low seed energy. Pulse amplitude fluctuations of only 1.2 % for 10,000 consecutive pulses were measured. The long term output power stability was 0.3 %. The laser combines the advantages of a small and efficient diode seed source with a reliable solid state regenerative amplifier, forming a compact, robust and powerful system. The gain switched seed diode delivers pulses on demand, rendering a pulse picker unnecessary. It is also insensitive against feedback, reducing requirements on isolation between seed diode and amplifier. This makes the laser an ideal source for applications in non-linear optics and high quality material processing.