Abstract

When designing a laser system, material properties and nonlinear properties, as well as laser properties become important to design components, such as spectral selectors and Q-switches. A database, LASERS, which is being developed by NASA's Langley Research Center, Flight Electronics Division, contains a catalog of physical parameters of many materials. Laser properties included in the database are the energy levels and the lifetimes of various energy manifolds. The database also contains tables for the index of refraction, the Sellmeier coefficients, the change in index of refraction with temperature, nine (9) thermal and mechanical properties, the damage threshold, the nonlinear coefficients, the photo-elastic coefficients, the electro-optical coefficients, the velocity of sound, and the relative dielectric coefficients. Information for laser materials, isotropic and birefringent materials, and nonlinear materials is included in the database and is accessible in a user-friendly fashion using preprogrammed macros.

© 1987 Optical Society of America