Design and performance of a 250 Hz alexandrite laser

Author

Sam, Richard C. ; Yeh, Jen-jye ; Leslie, Kendrik R. ; Rapoport, William R.

Author_Institution

Allied-Signal Corp., Westlake Village, CA, USA

Volume

24

Issue

6

fYear

1988

fDate

6/1/1988 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1151

Lastpage

1166

Abstract

The design, analysis, and performance of a 250-Hz alexandrite laser are described. Built as the wavelength-selective laser for a molecular laser isotope-separation program, the laser has to satisfy specifications on its tuning band, linewidth, output energy, temporal behavior, and repetition rate required by the process. The key design feature is the use of a tandem rod oscillator with concave curvature on rod ends for thermal lensing compensation. A model was developed to project the stability range and beam quality relative to repetition rate. The performance results of a delivered system are presented and future developments are discussed.<>

Keywords

laser transitions; laser tuning; solid lasers; 250 Hz; BeAl/sub 2/O/sub 4/:Cr/sup 3+/; alexandrite laser; linewidth; molecular laser isotope-separation program; repetition rate; tandem rod oscillator; thermal lensing; tuning band; wavelength-selective laser; Isotopes; Laser beams; Laser excitation; Laser modes; Laser tuning; Optical design; Optical pulses; Oscillators; Performance analysis; Process design;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9197

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/3.238

Filename

238