The Development of Cr, Tm, Ho: YAG Lasers for Airborne Lidar
Abstract
We proposed a research effort to determine the physical principals limiting the performance of pulsed Cr,Tm,Ho:YAG (CTH:YAG) lasers. The project was to conclude with the design of an eye-safe, aircraft-based transmitter for LIDAR and other remote sensing applications. The target specifications of the laser were: 100 mJ at 10 Hz repetition rate, single longitudinal mode, with a minimum pulse width of 500 ns. The research program investigated Q-switched operation of CTH:YAG lasers, flashlamp-pumped amplifiers, and injection seeding using diode-laser-pumped, single-frequency TH-YAG lasers. We extracted up to 30 mJ in a TEM(00) pulse at 10 Hz from both linear and ring resonators. The pulse widths at 3OmJ ranged from 200 ns to 400 ns. We demonstrated injection-seeding of a ring resonator operating at 10 mJ per pulse at 7 Hz, and amplified the output of this laser by a factor of three. The final task of this research program, the design of an aircraft-based transmitter, was incomplete at the end of the contract period. Lasers, Holmium, Injection-seeding. LIDAR, Laser amplifiers
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 22, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA274895
Entities
People
- John H. Flint