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Report on repetition-rated erbium:glass lasers

1992; SPIE; Volume: 1627; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1117/12.60140

1996-756X

Howard S. Keeter, D. Scott Dewald, M. A. Woodall,

Laser Material Processing Techniques

Eyesafe lasers capable of operating at moderate pulse repetitive rates have direct application for optical atmospheric data, wire avoidance, air defense, and a variety of other military and commercial systems. Such applications demand a significant increase in performance over the uncooled single-shot erbium:glass laser widely used in rangefinder systems. Varo Inc. is meeting this need with recently developed repetition-rated Er:glass laser systems. Separate solutions have been designed for the different thermal loading conditions imposed by various pulse rate/duty cycle combinations. For moderate thermal loads (up to 1 Hz for limited duty cycles), an uncooled resonator is usually adequate. For high loads (1 to 20 Hz at extended duty cycles), a flowing cooling system has been developed. For extreme conditions (continuous operation above 20 Hz), research is focused on reducing the heat load by using high-efficiency laser diode pumping.