840-Hz Nd:YAG Laser Source of Sodium Resonance Radiation
Abstract
A 20-W average power laser source of sodium resonance radiation has been developed and delivered to the Air Force Phillips Laboratory to generate a fluorescence spot in the earth's mesospheric sodium layer for atmospheric adaptive optics applications. The sodium resonance radiation was generated by sum-frequency mixing 1.06- and 1.32-UM Nd:YAG laser radiation in a lithium triborate crystal. The pulsed Nd:YAG lasers operated with a repetition rate of 840 Hz and pulse lengths of about 100 us. The sum radiation was resonant with the sodium D 2 transition and generated with an average mixing efficiency of 30%. The lasers were mode-locked with a controlled pulse width that provided a spectrally broadened output matched to the 3-GHz Doppler-broadened absorption width of mesospheric sodium. Nd: YAG lasers, sodium resonance radiation, sum- frequency mixing, mesospheric sodium, lithium triborate, adaptive optics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 11, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA252908
Entities
People
- Jeffrey Korn
- Kevin F. Wall
- Thomas H. Jeys
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology