CO ₂ Laser

The ATF is one of the only two facilities worldwide operating picosecond, terawatt-class CO₂ lasers. Our laser system consists of a picoseconds pulse-injector based on fast optical switching from the output of a conventional CO₂ laser oscillator, and a chain of high-pressure laser amplifiers. It starts with a wavelength converter wherein a near-IR picosecond solid-state laser with l»1 mm produces a mid-IR 10-mm pulse.  This process employs two methods; semiconductor optical switching, and the Kerr effect.  First, we combine the outputs from a multi-nanosecond CO₂ laser oscillator with a picosecond Nd:YAG laser on a germanium Brewster-plate to produce an ~200 ps, 10 mm pulse by semiconductor optical switching. Co-propagating this pulse with a Nd:YAG’s 2^nd harmonic in a Kerr cell filled with an optically active CS₂ fluid, we slice out a 5 ps, 10 mm pulse at the ~0.1 MW peak power-level.

Immediately after a low-power l»10 mm seed pulse is produced, it is amplified in a chain of high pressure (~10 atm.) CO₂ laser-amplifiers. At the first stage, the pulse is seeded into an isotope-filled CO₂ regenerative amplifier where it is trapped for 10-12 round trips and then released on reaching the ~1 GW level. A final high-pressure, large-aperture (10 cm) amplifier boosts the laser pulse to 1 TW for use in the experiments discussed above. Fig. 1 is a principle diagram of the ATF laser system; Fig. 2 illustrates the ATF’s assembly of high-pressure laser amplifiers. For more technical details, refer to Optics Express, Vol. 19, Issue 8, pp. 7717-7725 (2011) or call Pogorelsky.

Presently we implement a major CO2 laser upgrade to the multi-terawatt ultra-fast regime.

Figure. 1.Principle diagram of the ATF CO2 laser system.

Figure. 2. High-pressure CO2 amplifiers at the ATF.

 

Last Modified: November 14, 2012
Please forward all questions about this site to: Christina Swinson

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

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