Intracavity energy measurement of pulsed lasers

Summary form only given. Recently, we developed photoacoustic methods for the characterization of pulsed lasers and amplifiers using the detection of the acoustic signals produced in the active medium. In this paper we present a new method based on the detection of the acoustic waves produced in the rear mirror of pulsed lasers. As radiation emitted from the active medium falls upon the rear mirror of the cavity, part of the energy is reflected and a small fraction is absorbed, a process that generates an acoustic wave by the photoacoustic effect. It is demonstrated that the amplitudes, of the acoustic signals are proportional to the incident energy on the mirror and thus to the output energy.