INVESTIGATION OF MEANS FOR GENERATING HIGH-ENERGY AND EXTREMELY NARROW LASER PULSES.
Abstract
The simultaneous Q-switching and mode-locking of a 1-meter-long glass laser rod has produced a pulse having an energy content of 44 joules with a peak power of 4 gigawatts and time duration of approximately 1.5 x 10 to the -9th power sec. A 47-joule pulse has been obtained using a 45-cm-long glass rod as a simultaneous Q-switched and mode-locked oscillator and a 1-meter-long glass rod as an optical amplifier. The time duration of individual mode-locked pulses for this case was 0.75 x 10 to the 9th power sec. Use of a 16.5-cm-long oscillator and 1-meter-long amplifier resulted in generation of pulses with a peak power between 3.7 x 10 to the 10th power and 9.4 x 10 to the 10th power watts and time durations of 2 x 10 to the -11th power to 8 x 10 to the -12 power sec, respectively. These measurements are believed to represent the highest peak power pulses reported in literature to date. Experimental techniques for generating single, subnanosecond pulses having peak powers in the hundreds of megawatts range have been devised and made operative. A 600-megawatt peak power pulse of 0.4 x 10 to the -9th power sec time duration was obtained with a 45-cm-long oscillator. Using such an oscillator plus a 1-meter rod as an amplifier a single 0.5 x 10 to the -9th power sec pulse has been generated with an energy content of 1.8 joules. A Marx-Bank pulse generator was designed, constructed, and utilized in generation of these single, ultrashort optical pulses. These measurements represent the shortest single, optical pulses reported in the literature to date.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0809590
Entities
People
- Anthony J. Demaria
- Hans A. Heynau
Organizations
- United Technologies Corporation