Beam-quality measurements on solid state dye lasers using nonconfocal unstable resonators

Jeffrey A. Russell; Dennis P. Pacheco; Henry R. Aldag; S. M. Dolotov; M. F. Koldunov; Ya. V. Kravchenko; Alexander A. Manenkov; A. V. Reznichenko; G. P. Roskova

doi:10.1117/12.424615

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16 April 2001 Beam-quality measurements on solid state dye lasers using nonconfocal unstable resonators

Jeffrey A. Russell, Dennis P. Pacheco, Henry R. Aldag, S. M. Dolotov, M. F. Koldunov, Ya. V. Kravchenko, Alexander A. Manenkov, A. V. Reznichenko, G. P. Roskova

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Proceedings Volume 4267, Solid State Lasers X; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.424615
Event: Photonics West 2001 - LASE, 2001, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

This paper reports on a systematic study ofthe beam quality ofsolid-state dye lasers for different resonator designs. The resonators investigated include: multimode stable, hard-edge unstable, and unstable with a graded-reflectivity mirror (GRM) output coupler. The purpose ofthe work was to investigate the conditions under which good beam quality can be achieved, and to examine the possible trade-off between beam quality and energy extraction efficiency. Beam quality was quantified through conventional M2 measurements. A hard-edge unstable resonator of magnification ?2.5 produced a beam ofM2 ?11 - 12 at a PRF of 2Hz and a pump flux of 5 MW/cm2. The value increased to ? 18 — 19 at a pump flux of2O MW/cm2. This can be compared with an M2 of ? 140 - 150 with the multimode stable resonator. Preliminary measurements with the GRM resulted in M2 values of ? 5 to 6 at 5 MW/cm2.

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Jeffrey A. Russell, Dennis P. Pacheco, Henry R. Aldag, S. M. Dolotov, M. F. Koldunov, Ya. V. Kravchenko, Alexander A. Manenkov, A. V. Reznichenko, and G. P. Roskova "Beam-quality measurements on solid state dye lasers using nonconfocal unstable resonators", Proc. SPIE 4267, Solid State Lasers X, (16 April 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.424615

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