Title :
Dynamics of passively Q-switched microchip lasers
Author :
Peterson, P. ; Gavrielides, A. ; Sharma, M.P. ; Emeux, T.
Author_Institution :
Nonlinear Opt. Center of Technol., Air Force Res. Lab., Kirland AFB, NM, USA
fDate :
8/1/1999 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Self-pulsing in passively Q-switched microchip lasers is investigated in detail. The typical range of values of the parameters motivates a new analysis of the laser rate equations. We determine basic properties of the laser intensity oscillations such as threshold conditions, repetition rate, pulsewidth, peak power, and pulse energy. We show that these oscillations appear through a quasi-vertical Hopf bifurcation located slightly above the lasing threshold. Our bifurcation results are verified numerically by modeling a microchip laser experiment with Nd:YAG as the gain medium and YAG:Cr as saturable absorber. Our results agree with the experiment to within 10%
Keywords :
Q-switching; bifurcation; laser theory; micro-optics; neodymium; optical saturable absorption; solid lasers; Nd:YAG gain medium; YAG:Cr; YAG:Cr saturable absorber; YAG:Nd; YAl5O12:Cr; YAl5O12:Nd; laser intensity oscillations; laser rate equations; lasing threshold; microchip laser; passively Q-switched microchip laser dynamics; peak power; pulse energy; pulsewidth; quasi-vertical Hopf bifurcation; repetition rate; self-pulsing; threshold conditions; Bifurcation; Equations; Laser modes; Laser stability; Laser theory; Microchip lasers; Optical pulses; Pump lasers; Solid lasers; Space vector pulse width modulation;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
