Title :
Acoustooptic Q-switching of erbium lasers
Author :
Schnell, Stefan ; Ostroumov, V.G. ; Breguet, Jacques ; Lüthy, Willy A R ; Weber, Heinz P. ; Shcherbakov, I.A.
Author_Institution :
Inst. of Appl. Phys., Bern Univ., Switzerland
fDate :
6/1/1990 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Experiments were performed on Q switching of erbium lasers at 3 μm with an acoustooptical modulator. Different laser crystals of YAG:Er and YSGG:Cr:Er have been investigated. The highest fraction of single pulse Q-switch energy to free-running mode energy was 1%. Pulse durations of 50 ns were obtained. Multiple switching with up to 14 Q-switch peaks per flashlamp pulse could be generated, containing up to 19% of the energy of the free-running mode
Keywords :
Q-switching; acousto-optical devices; erbium; garnets; high-speed optical techniques; laser accessories; optical modulation; scandium compounds; solid lasers; yttrium compounds; 3 micron; 50 ns; Er lasers; Q-switch peaks; Q-switching; YAG:Er; YAl5O12:Er; YScGG:Cr,Er; YScGa5O12:Cr,Er; acoustooptical modulator; flashlamp pulse; free-running mode energy; laser crystals; single pulse Q-switch energy; Biological materials; Chromium; Crystals; Erbium; Laser modes; Mirrors; Optical materials; Optical pulse generation; Physics; Switches;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
