Cavity dumping of a mode-locked pulsed Nd:YAG laser

Abstract

The generation of single picosecond light pulses from a flashlamp-pumped active/passive mode-locked Nd:YAG laser with a 4 J pump threshold is described. A novel combination of an optically triggered avalanche transistor and a transistor-switched Pockels cell is used as a cavity dumper for single pulse selection. This leads to a reliable picosecond laser with a repetition rate up to 100 Hz. To improve the stability of the laser output an acousto-optic mode locker is added. A simple method of adjustment of the cavity length to the mode-locker frequency is described.