Innovative Solid State Infrared Laser Devices
Abstract
Technology and devices were investigated that can improve lasing power and efficiency, extend tunability, create and modulate laser waveforms, and provide versatile performance. Reliability, cost, and suitability to the military environment were addressed along with technical performance. Cr2+:ZnSe laser power was scaled up to 14 W CW. Tunable Cr2+:ZnSe lasing over 2275-2700 nm was achieved with grating tuning and powers ranging from 2 to 9 W. Passive saturable absorber modelocking was achieved with several hundred mW of output power. Gain switched Cr2+:ZnSe lasing generated 3 mJ of output energy with 52% slope efficiency. Efforts to fabricate a Cr:ZnSe fiber core using the RIT method were unsuccessful. More promising techniques include deposition of ZnSe in the hollow core of a silica fiber and fabrication of waveguide structures in ZnSe using ultrashort pulses. Sub-nanosecond pulses were generated using a micro-chip Nd laser oscillator and an Yb-doped fiber amplifier. Wavelengths were converted to the mid-IR using nonlinear frequency conversion. An alternative Tm:YAG microchip laser that operates directly in the infrared spectral region was investigated. CW Tm lasing was achieved but passive Q-switched was not. An image processing technique was used to provide quantitative evaluation of poling quality of quasi-phase matched crystals. The mapping of calculated d(eff) to threshold matched the nonlinear optical parametric generation measurements quite well.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA544583
Entities
People
- Kenneth L Schepler
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory