HIGH INTENSITY PUMP FOR OPTICAL LASERS.
Abstract
The development, construction, and testing of a laser head in which the source of pump radiation is the dense hot plasma produced by electrically exploded wires is described. A capacitor bank energy storage system was constructed which has a maximum capability of 150,000 Joules at 20 KV. It consists of nine independent sections which can be operated in any parallel combination. The capacitor sections are switched with ignitrons, the measured ringing frequency being 50 KC/sec with a rise time of 5 x 10 to the -6th sec. Utilizing one section of the energy storage system, the radiation characteristics of electrically exploded tungsten wires were evaluated over the wavelength range 2500 - 8500 Angstroms using a plane grating spectrograph. The peak spectral radiance of exploding tungsten wires was measured at 5460 Angstroms using an absolutely calibrated photomultiplier detector and narrow band filter combination. The problem of efficiently transferring the radiation from an exploding light source into a laser rod was considered. Some conclusions were drawn with regard to the optical aspects of this problem sufficient to allow the design and construction of a multiple exploding wire laser head. The multiple exploding wire laser head, the energy storage system, and the control system have satisfactorily undergone electrical tests. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1963
- Accession Number
- AD0416024
Entities
People
- H. R. Moore
- N. C. Chase