To the best of our knowledge this is the first demonstration of a 2-μm, Ho:YLF laser source based on a mode-locked oscillator/regenerative amplifier combination and a subsequent single-pass amplifier stage to produce picosecond pulse trains at 1-10 kHz rate with up to ~11 mJ of pulse energy. Further pulse energy scaling can be achieved through addition of single-pass amplifier(s). Availability of 2-μm, kHz-rate lasers providing 10-100-mJ, picosecond-scale pulses is critical for the development of short-pulse mid-IR nonlinear optical devices, in general, and for construction of femtosecond OPCPAs for high-harmonic generation and terahertz generation, in particular.
We report a ZGP OPO/OPA system capable of producing >30 mJ at a signal wavelength of 3.4 μm. Our pump source
for the OPO/OPA is a 2.05-μm, diffraction-limited Ho:YLF master-oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) producing ~150
mJ energy per pulse at repetition rate from single shot to ~500 Hz (>100 mJ at 1 kHz). The Ho-MOPA output was split
~2:1 into two beams: one (~50 mJ per pulse) pumping an image-rotating RISTRA ZGP OPO to generate a 3.4-μm signal
wave with >10 mJ of pulse energy and near diffraction-limited beam quality, and the other to pump a ZGP OPA stage to
increase the signal wave to ~30 mJ per pulse.
We report on several developments in solid state lasers and nonlinear optics specifically for applications in remote sensing. In the area of UV sources for ozone monitoring, we have developed an efficient, third-harmonic, tunable Ti:sapphire-laser-based source. For long-range, eyesafe detection of aerosols, we report a high-energy optical parametric oscillator (OPO) driven by a flashlamp-pumped, Q-switched Nd:YLF laser. Finally, for mid-infrared DIAL, we have developed a Tandem-OPO that converts a common Nd-doped laser into a tunable source capable of providing wavelengths in the range 1500-5500 nm and 8000-12000 nm.
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