Temporal and energetic characteristics of ultrabroadband <inline-formula><roman>Ti</roman>^{<roman>3+</roman>}:<roman>sapphire</roman></inline-formula> laser

Abstract

The main temporal and energetic characteristics of an ultrabroadband nanosecond Ti 3ϩ :sapphire laser are measured. The laser resonator employs a prism pair and a diaphragm creating a ''spatially dispersive'' cavity, and then is allowed to maintain the lasing conditions simultaneously for different spectral components in different areas of the active element. Second-harmonic radiation from a Q-switched YAG:Nd 3ϩ laser with a 532-nm oscillating wavelength and up to 210 mJ of pulse energy was utilized as a pumping source. The ultrabroadband laser was transversely pumped and operated simultaneously in 685-to 955-nm region with a minimum pulse duration of 25 ns, pulse energy of up to 17.8 mJ, a pulse repetition rate of 10 Hz, and 8.5% real pumping to lasing efficiency. Oscillation build-up time was 19.8 ns at a 775-nm wavelength and was varied for different spectral components by only 7 ns in the 700-to 912-nm region. © 1999 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. [S0091-3286(99)01104-6] Downloaded From: http://opticalengineering.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 05/15/2015 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms