Single-mode, All-Solid-State Nd:YAG Laser Pumped UV Converter
In this paper, the status of a high-energy, all solid-state Nd:YAG laser pumped nonlinear optics based UV converter development is discussed. The high-energy UV transmitter technology is being developed for ozone sensing applications from space based platforms using differential lidar technique. The goal is to generate greater than 200 mJ/pulse with 10-50 Hz PRF at wavelengths of 308 nm and 320 nm. A diode-pumped, all-solid-state and single longitudinal mode Nd:YAG laser designed to provide conductively cooled operation at 1064 nm has been built and tested. Currently, this pump laser provides an output pulse energy of >1 J/pulse at 50 Hz PRF and a pulsewidth of 22 ns with an electrical-to-optical system efficiency of greater than 7% and a M(sup 2) value of <2. The single frequency UV converter arrangement basically consists of an IR Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) and a Sum Frequency Generator (SFG) setups that are pumped by 532 nm wavelength obtained via Second Harmonic Generation (SHG). In this paper, the operation of an inter cavity SFG with CW laser seeding scheme generating 320 nm wavelength is presented. Efforts are underway to improve conversion efficiency of this mJ class UV converter by modifying the spatial beam profile of the pump laser.
High Energy, Single-Mode, All-Solid-State Nd:YAG Laser
In this paper, recent progress made in the design and development of an all-solid-state, single longitudinal mode, conductively cooled Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm wavelength for UV lidar for ozone sensing applications is presented. Currently, this pump laser provides an output pulse energy of greater than 1.1 J/pulse at 50 Hz PRF and a pulsewidth of 22 ns. The spatial profile of the output beam is a rectangular super Gaussian. Electrical-to-optical system efficiency of greater than 7% and a minimum M(sup 2) value of less than 2 have been achieved.
Efficient all-solid-state UV source for satellite-based lidar applications
A satellite-based UV-DIAL measurement system would allow continuous global monitoring of ozone concentration in the upper atmosphere. However such systems remain difficult to implement because aerosol-scattering return signals for satellite-based lidars are very weak. A suitable system must produce high-energy UV pulses at multiple wavelengths with very high efficiency. For example, a nanosecond system operating at 10 Hz must generate approximately 1 J per pulse at 308-320 nm. An efficient space-qualified wavelength-agile system based on a single UV source that can meet this requirement is probably not available using current laser technology. As an alternative, we're pursuing a multi-source approach employing all-solid-state modules that individually generate 300-320 nm light with pulse energies in the range of 50-200 mJ, with transform-limited bandwidths and good beam quality. Pulses from the individual sources can be incoherently summed to obtain the required single-pulse energy. These sources use sum-frequency mixing of the 532 nm second harmonic of an Nd:YAG pump laser with 731-803 nm light derived from a recently-developed, state-of-the-art, nanosecond optical parametric oscillator. Two source configurations are under development, one using extra-cavity sum-frequency mixing, and the other intra-cavity sum-frequency mixing. In either configuration, we hope to obtain sum-frequency mixing efficiency approaching 60% by carefully matching the spatial and temporal properties of the laser and OPO pulses. This ideal balance of green and near-IR photons requires an injection-seeded Nd:YAG pump-laser with very high beam quality, and an OPO exhibiting unusually high conversion efficiency and exceptional signal beam quality. The OPO employs a singly-resonant high-Fresnel-number image-rotating self-injection-seeded nonplanar-ring cavity that achieves pump depletion > 65% and produces signal beams with M2 ≈ 3 at pulse energies exceeding 50 mJ. Pump beam requirements can be met in the laboratory using a commercial Nd:YAG laser system, but only after extensive modifications.