Abstract
A new type of Q switching for a flash-lamp-pumped Nd:YAG laser based on the saturable absorption of rudibium dimers is demonstrated. The variation of laser parameters such as output energy, pulse length, and repetition rate by means of temperature-controlled vapor pressure is shown. For a temperature of 320 °C, a train of 40-ns pulses separated by 6-μs intervals is generated. When the temperature is 360 °C, a single giant pulse with energy of 100 mJ and a pulse length of 10–15 ns is observed. Comparison with a solid-state passive Q switch based on LiF is provided. The new cell construction, consisting of a sealed-off sapphire cell containing rubidium vapor, is proposed for reliable, efficient, adjustable Q switching that is applicable to all types of solid-state lasers. The advantages of this mechanism of Q switching, such as thermal insensitivity, frequency locking and line narrowing, and wide spectral bandwidth, covering 0.6–1.3 μm, are discussed.
© 1994 Optical Society of America
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