All-solid state kilohertz repetition rate tunable Ti:sapphire laser

A CW Q-switched frequency-doubled Nd:YLF laser operating at 527 nm and capable of delivering high-energy (1.5-2 mJ), long (0.2-0.3 μs) pulses at a high repetition rate (1-3 kHz) was developed and used to pump Ti:sapphire crystal in a longitudinal pumping configuration. Different crystal lengths and doping levels of Ti³⁺ ions as well as variable pump pulse width were used to characterize the Ti:sapphire laser performance. The laser was successfully operated at repetition rates of 1-3 kHz. Data were obtained for the laser threshold and slope efficiency for a 10, 20, and 30% transmission output coupler. The output versus input energy for T = 20% is shown. The temporal output of the Ti laser was considerably shorter than the pump pulse width. The delay between the pump and laser pulses decreased with the incident pump energy. The observed tuning curves of the laser with different sets of optics centered around 632 nm, 750 nm, and 1.06 μm are shown.