Apparatus and method for cavity dumping a Q-switched laser
US4174504A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 25, 1978 |
| Grant date | Nov 13, 1979 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 25, 1998 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/1127
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A laser having a gaseous gain medium capable of continuous wave operation and including an etalon with a Stark active gas disposed therein, adapted for providing submicrosecond pulses is disclosed. A method of utilizing the Stark effect to tune rapidly an etalon to form an output mirror having a variable reflectivity to Q-switch and cavity dump the optical flux within a laser to provide an output pulse of laser radiation having a submicrosecond pulse width, typically variable between fifty and three hundred fifty nanoseconds, at a pulse repetition frequency up to twenty-five kilohertz is disclosed. A laser typically having a carbon dioxide gain medium adapted for continuous wave operation includes a grating defining one end of the laser resonator and an output mirror defining the other end wherein the output mirror is an etalon formed with two mirrors containing a switching cell having a Stark active gas disposed therein. A voltage applied to the switching cell rapidly transforms the highly transmissive state of the output mirror to a highly reflective state to Q-switch the laser. Terminating the voltage rapidly transforms the highly reflective state of the output mirror to its ori…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.