COL 11(7), 071402(2013) CHINESE OPTICS LETTERS July 10, 2013
Laser-diode-pumped zigzag slab Nd:YAG master
oscillator power amplifier
Shiguang Li (
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1,2
, Xiuhua Ma (
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1∗
, Huanhuan Li (
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1,2
, Feng Li (
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1,2
,
Xiaolei Zhu (
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1
, and Weibiao Chen (
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)
1
1
Shanghai Key Laboratory of All Solid-State Laser and Applied Techniques,
Research Center of Space Laser Information Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
2
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
∗
Corresponding author: maxiuhua@gmail.com
Received April 9, 2013; accepted May 13, 2013; posted online July 3, 2013
A high-repetition rate master oscillator power amplifier pumped with laser diodes (LDs) is reported. An
injection seeding single-frequency electro-optical Q-switched Nd:YAG laser is used as an oscillator, and
a conductively cooled Nd:YAG zigzag slab with a bounce- pumped architecture is utilized as a power
amplifier. Pulse energies of over 800 mJ at 1 064 nm and 400 mJ at 532 nm, corresponding to average
powers of 200 and 100 W, respectively, are achieved with a 12.6-ns pu lse width at 250 Hz. Output frequency
fluctuations and single-frequency operation are further monitored. Experimental results reveal that the
proposed system, which features a single-pass amplified configuration, is a promising design for space-
based applications.
OCIS codes: 140.3280, 140.3480, 140.3515, 140.3570.
doi: 10.3788/COL201311.071402.
Conductively cooled zigzag sla bs have been the basis for
laser transmitters used in spac e -based lidar sy stems
[1−3]
.
Oscillator/amplifier configurations with robust designs,
long-term usability, and almost-maintenance-free o pera-
tion are generally favorablefor flight-wo rthy and space-
qualified lasers
[4,5]
. However, thermal issues, such as
depolarization and aberrations, hindering in the high-
power operation of a solid-state amplifier system. Pre-
vious studies have developed a laser diode (LD)-pumped
solid-state laser with average powers of tens o f watts
[6]
,
corresponding to 750-mJ pulse energiesat 1 064 nm and
diffraction-limited output beams with co mparative pulse
energiesbased on a master oscillator power a mplifier
(MOPA)
[7]
by thermally induced phase distortion of the
gain medium. Average output powers of 235
[8]
and 250
W
[9]
at pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 320 and 200
Hz, respec tively, have been obta ined. Although laser
systems with diamond-tur ned aspheric optics
[7]
, phase-
conjugated mirrors
[8]
, and angle-multiplexed ring-type
double-pass configurations
[9]
show excellent performance
in the correction of wavefronts and generation of good
beam quality with high single-pulse energies, such de-
signs add complexity and volume to prototype systems
and increase the difficulty of assembly and calibration.
Several components in such systems
[10]
may also influ-
ence all qualific ation testing procedures, including opti-
cal damage and extended lifetime tes ting, in a complex
environment. Compared with conventional rod lasers,
zigzag slab lasers
[1,2,11,12]
have a rectilinear geometry
that reduces stress-induced birefringence a nd an optical
path that minimizes thermal- and stress-induced focus-
ing. Thus, zigzag slab lasers are suitable for achiev-
ing high average power levels while maintaining good
beam quality and po larization contrast. However, slab
lasers, especially side-pumped slab lasers, have low laser
efficiency, which limits their applications.
Several studies have considered fac e pumping as an
ideal slab design. Face pumping uses the same in-
terface for pumping and cooling, in which the slab
is uniformly heated throughout its volume and uni-
formly cooled through two total-internal-reflection (TIR)
faces
[13]
. However, face-pumped designs typically require
direct liquid cooling to satisfy the requirements of uni-
form pumping and cooling of both faces
[14,15]
. Direct liq-
uid cooling often damages the slab laser design because it
induces slab degradation and the cooling fluid contami-
nates the s lab. Improvement of thermal handling requires
the reduction of slab thickness, which, in turn, reduces
the pump absorption depth in a face-pumped geometry.
The edge-pumpe d slab design
[11]
permits symmetric con-
duction cooling and efficient pump absorption and ac-
cepts large numerical aperture pump sources. Alarge as-
pect ratio (3:1) reduces the r obustness of the slab and
increases stress, resulting in crystal damage. Conduc-
tion coo ling
[16]
features benefits of mechanical stability,
protection of the TIR faces, cooling uniformity, and sep-
aration of the slab-liquid interface. However, the asym-
metries of cooling schemes cause thermal stresses in the
crystals that limit their powe r-scaling potential. The
symmetric cooling of edge-pumped slab lasers provides
a design that can be scaled to high-power levels.
A MOPA with a PRF of 100 Hz and an output en-
ergy of 800 mJ was previously investigated
[12]
. Given
that the signal-to-nois e ratio (SNR) of lidar systems is
proportional to the square root of the PRF of the laser
transmitters under certain single-pulse energ ies, higher
PRFs enable longer detection ranges and higher detec-
tion accuracy. Therefore, the PRF of lase r transmitters
must be increased. We recently success fully developed an
injection-seeded single-frequency 1 064-nm laser oscilla-
tor with a 250-Hz PRF
[17]
and high power using a highly
efficient conduction cooling technique
[18]
. In the current
1671-7694/2013/071402(4) 071402-1
c
2013 Chinese Optics Letters
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