Design and performance of a high-power, synchronized Nd:YAG–dye laser system

Abstract

The design and performance of a Nd:YAG-dye-laser system capable of producing synchronized peak powers approaching 10 GW is described. The output of the amplified dye-laser system is several millijoules with fully tunable pulses as short as 300 fsec and is optically synchronized with the 3-GW output of an amplified Nd:YAG laser system, permitting a new class of high-intensity pump-probe experiments. By using short ( approximately 70-psec) pulses to pump the dye amplifier, the energy of amplified spontaneous emission is reduced to less than 10(-5) of that contained in the main subpicosecond pulse.