FACE PUMPED LASER.
Abstract
A program for measuring the distortion of a series chain of face pumped laser amplifiers was developed. Three inch diameter discs of Nd laser glass, five with 570 micro sec fluorescence lifetime and two with 900 micro sec, were procured, and five disc amplifiers, each consisting of a pumping module, UV and IR filtering, separate mirror and Nd glass disc have been constructed. The gradient of the pumping intensity across the laser disc was measured and calculated to cause wavefront distortion of less than lambda/100. In addition the pumping intensity as a function of electrical input was measured. The distortion characteristics of a single disc assembly were investigated and it was found that the major distortion effect of pumping is a vibration and thermal warping of the mirror holder which results in an angular displacement of the reflected laser beam of approximately 2 microradians. By proper mechanical design this effect can be essentially eliminated. Preliminary measurements on a five disc amplifier chain were carried out. On the basis of this it is estimated that two round trips through each of the five discs will increase the beam divergence by less than 1/2 the diffraction limit. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 31, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0800507
Entities
People
- J. P. Chernoch
- K. Tomiyasu
- W. S. Martin
Organizations
- General Electric