250-W average-power Nd:YAG laser with self-adaptive cavity completed by dynamic refractive-index gratings

A high average power laser oscillator with a cavity completed by a nonlinear mirror formed by refractive index gratings which accompany population gratings induced in Nd:YAG laser crystals by generating beams themselves is investigated numerically and experimentally. The role of different noise sources at the initial stage of nonlinear cavity formation is studied. The adaptation of the cavity formed by nonlinear dynamic mirrors to intracavity distortions is demonstrated. The generation of beams with average power up to 250 W, near-diffraction-limited divergence, and long coherence length has been achieved.

[1]  Oleg L. Antipov,et al.  Pulse repetitive Nd:YAG laser with distributed feedback by self-induced population grating , 1998 .

[2]  Y. Zel’dovich,et al.  Principles of phase conjugation , 1985 .

[3]  K. S. Syed,et al.  Self-adaptive solid-state laser oscillator formed by dynamic gain-grating holograms. , 1995, Optics letters.

[4]  Oleg L. Antipov,et al.  Nd:YAG laser with cavity formed by population inversion gratings , 1998, Photonics West.

[5]  W. Sooy,et al.  Very long lasers. , 1974, Applied optics.

[6]  Oleg L. Antipov,et al.  Self-starting 100-W-average-power laser with a self-adaptive cavity , 2000, LASE.

[7]  G J Crofts,et al.  Self-starting Ti:sapphire holographic laser oscillator. , 1997, Optics letters.

[8]  James Case.  A class of games having Pareto optimal Nash equilibria , 1974 .

[9]  O Antipov,et al.  Formation of dynamic cavity in a self-starting high-average-power Nd:YAG laser oscillator. , 1999, Optics express.

[10]  Oleg L. Antipov,et al.  Resonant two-wave mixing of optical beams by refractive-index and gain gratings in inverted Nd:YAG , 1998 .

[11]  Horst Weber,et al.  A novel approach for compensation of birefringence in cylindrical Nd: YAG rods , 1996 .

[12]  A. Siegman,et al.  13 – Optical Resonators Using Phase-Conjugate Mirrors† , 1983 .

[13]  O. Antipov,et al.  Dynamics of refractive-index changes in a Nd:YAG laser crystal under excitation of Nd 3+ ions , 1999 .

[14]  P. Sillard,et al.  Gain-grating analysis of a self-starting self-pumped phase-conjugate Nd:YAG loop resonator , 1998 .

[15]  Oleg L. Antipov,et al.  High-average-power solid state lasers with cavity formed by self-induced refractive index gratings , 1999, Photonics West.