Diode-pumped alexandrite ring laser in single-longitudinal mode operation for atmospheric lidar measurements

Munk, Alexander; Jungbluth, Bernd; Strotkamp, Michael; Hoffmann, Hans-Dieter; Poprawe, Reinhart; Höffner, J.; Lübken, Franz‐Josef

doi:10.1364/oe.26.014928

Cited by 38 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…One hopeful approach to overcome these drawbacks is by replacing the flashlamps with diode lasers [14,15]. Recently, new basic investigations in the field of diode-pumped Alexandrite lasers have been conducted with focus on altimetry lidar and vegetation monitoring (red-edge) [16] and resonance lidar [17].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Diode-pumped Alexandrite laser instrument for next generation satellite-based Earth observation

Strotkamp

Munk

Jungbluth

et al. 2019

International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this work the first diode-pumped Alexandrite ring laser in Q-switched single-longitudinal mode (SLM) operation is presented. A carefully designed and complex ring resonator with several functional components is combined with an innovative pumping scheme with high-power red laser diodes.The spectral and energetic suitability of a first laser was demonstrated in hundreds of operating hours and, with a novel mobile lidar system, by the first measurements in the atmosphere by means of a diode-pumped Alexandrite laser, yielding data from the stratosphere to the mesosphere.An improved laser yields a pulse energy of 1.7 mJ at a repetition rate of 500 Hz with an excellent beam quality of M 2 < 1.1. By seeding the resonator with a narrow-band diode laser, SLM operation with a linewidth below 4 MHz is achieved. The electro-optical efficiency of 2 % is the highest archived for all Alexandrite lasers in SLM operation and reasonable for space-operation.The performance analysis as well as benchmarking with the space-qualified mounting technology point out the TRL and the remaining effort of development of the technology. INTRODUCTIONUnderstanding temperature distributions and wind fields in the atmosphere at altitudes between 80 and 110 km, i.e. the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT), is crucial for performing numerical simulations of the Earth's climate. The effects of gravity waves on the global wind system and atmospheric dynamics are hardly understood and item of research of space agencies and ground-based observations [1-6]. One well-established approach to provide such data is to measure the Doppler-broadened and -shifted resonance line of metal atoms, e.g. potassium (770 nm or 772 nm) [6,7], iron (386 nm) [8,9] and sodium (589 nm) [10][11][12], by means of a Doppler lidar.While localized measurements have been performed over the last 20 years from the ground and revealed fundamental deviations from the predicted conditions, there is no coverage of global scale by lidar. The development of a spaceborne resonance lidar instrument is deferred by the lack of laser sources at the demanded wavelengths that are suitable for spaceborne operation.The currently used Alexandrite (Cr 3+ :BeAl2O4) lasers with their broad tunability (700-800 nm) [13] are well suited for the generation of several interesting wavelengths, either operating at their fundamental wavelength or intra-cavity frequency-doubled. The flashlamp-pumped Alexandrite ring lasers operating in Q-switched single-longitudinal mode (SLM) operation are commonly used as beam sources in resonance potassium and iron resonance lidar systems [6][7][8][9].However the usage of flashlamps as pump source makes them unsuitable for spaceborne operation, due to the poor efficiency and limited lifetime. One hopeful approach to overcome these drawbacks is by replacing the flashlamps with diode lasers [14,15]. Recently, new basic investigations in the field of diode-pumped Alexandrite lasers have been conducted with focus on altimetry lidar and vegetation monitoring (red-edge) [...

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Diode-pumped Alexandrite laser instrument for next generation satellite-based Earth observation

Strotkamp

Munk

Jungbluth

et al. 2019

International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It also comprises a Faraday rotator for unidirectional operation and a Pockels cell for Q-switching to ensure suitable pulse durations. A detailed description of the design and performance data of the laser source can be found in [17].…”

Section: Requirements and State Of The Artmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After the proof of principle that resonance lidar measurements can be conducted with diode-pumped Alexandrite lasers shown in [17], an advanced Alexandrite laser is developed with higher energetic parameters and a less complex and therefore more robust resonator design. Special emphasis is put on the pump optics, since the unbalanced beam quality of the diode modules (M 2 = 30 in fast-axis and M 2 = 300 in slow-axis) leads to a highly anamorphic thermal lens which results in a complex design of the resonator.…”

Section: Design Of a Compact And Robust Laser Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Special emphasis is put on the pump optics, since the unbalanced beam quality of the diode modules (M 2 = 30 in fast-axis and M 2 = 300 in slow-axis) leads to a highly anamorphic thermal lens which results in a complex design of the resonator. A detailed characterization of the pump modules and the influence on the resonator can be found in [17].…”

Section: Design Of a Compact And Robust Laser Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Diode-pumped Alexandrite laser for next generation satellite-based earth observation lidar

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this work, the design of a diode-pumped Alexandrite ring laser in Q-switched single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) operation for a spaceborne lidar mission is presented. The laser is pumped by a self-developed fiber-coupled laser diode pump device and yields a pulse energy of 1.7 mJ at a repetition rate of 500 Hz with an excellent beam quality of M 2 < 1.1. By seeding the resonator with a narrow band diode laser, SLM operation with a linewidth of approximately 10 MHz is achieved. The electrooptical efficiency of 2% is the highest achieved for all Alexandrite lasers in SLM operation and reasonable for space operation. The performance analysis as well as benchmarking with the space-qualified mounting technology points out the TRL and the remaining effort for the development of the technology. An estimation of the requirements for a spaceborne resonance lidar mission underlines the suitability of such a lidar system with a diode-pumped Alexandrite laser as the beam source.

show abstract

MLT Science Enabled by Atmospheric Lidars

She

Liu

Yuan

et al. 2021

Geophysical Monograph Series

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Diode-pumped alexandrite ring laser in single-longitudinal mode operation for atmospheric lidar measurements

Cited by 38 publications

References 20 publications

Diode-pumped Alexandrite laser instrument for next generation satellite-based Earth observation

Diode-pumped Alexandrite laser instrument for next generation satellite-based Earth observation

Diode-pumped Alexandrite laser for next generation satellite-based earth observation lidar

MLT Science Enabled by Atmospheric Lidars

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About