7B3 - Characteristics of a traveling-wave ruby single-mode laser as a laser radar transmitter

As part of a laser radar program, a single-mode ruby laser transmitter has been developed having the following properties: Master Oscillator: power output ≈ 20 kW; pulse width =1μs; repetition rate = 1 pps. Power Amplifier: (measured gain 24 dB). This paper describes results obtained with this laser transmitter. The techniques to determine the key properties of this laser transmitter are described along with the actual results that have been obtained. The particular characteristics of interest are 1) coherence of the laser, 2) frequency shift of "chirp" during the pulse, and 3) method of achieving the single mode.