High-energy Nd:YAG laser system with arbitrary sub-nanosecond pulse shaping capability
R. A. Meijer, A. S. Stodolna, K. S. E. Eikema, and S. Witte
Index: 10.1364/OL.42.002758
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Abstract
We report on a laser system capable of generating high-energy (>270 mJ) temporally shaped pulses at 1064 nm with 0.43-ns shaping resolution. The pulses are generated by modulation of a continuous-wave seed laser and subsequent amplification by a dual-stage grazing-incidence Nd:YVO4 “bounce” amplifier and a Nd:YAG power amplifier (all quasi-continuous diode-pumped). The system produces pulses with a high-quality top-hat spatial beam profile with up to 0.6 GW of peak power and 44 W of average power, a power stability of 0.22% rms, and fully programmable complex temporal shapes.