CO.sub.2 TEA laser utilizing an intra-cavity prism Q-switch
AssigneeHughes Aircraft Company
InventorsDonald R. Dewhirst, Robert L. Duvall, III
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Abstract
A CO.sub.2 TEA laser utilizing an intra-cavity rotating prism Q-switch (70) for angularly switching the resonator gain by periodically causing the resonator mirrors (54, 56) to be in alignment. An opto-electronic timing device (79), which includes a graded index glass rod (76) rotating with the Q-switch prism, generates a pulse to initiate the laser discharge at the proper time before the mirrors are aligned so that the laser output pulse occurs when peak gain is achieved. The Q-switch speed of rotation is chosen such that the time interval in which the mirrors are aligned is not long enough to support the tail portion of the pulse typical of the gain switched CO.sub.2 TEA laser.
Claims15
Apparatus for controlling the resonator gain of a pulse laser device comprising:
- an envelope having a longitudinal axis and containing an active medium therein and resonator mirrors optically aligned with the longitudinal axis of said envelope, the resonator optical axis of said laser device being positioned to enable reflection of the laser pulse by a prism Q-switch interposed between said resonator mirrors, said Q-switch being rotatable about an axis and having retroreflective properties in axes orthogonal to the axis;
- means for rotating said prism Q-switch to periodically angularly align the resonator mirrors of said laser by the rotating prism;
- and
- a graded index optical imaging device, including means for converting optical to electrical energy, coupled to said rotating means for forming an image of a light source which is caused to sweep across a photodetector by rotation of said switch and for generating a timed electrical pulse for energizing the laser active medium, said optical imaging device having an angular relationship with respect to the resonator optical axis to establish a lead angle, the timing of the electrical pulse to be so arranged as to cause the alignment of said switch to occur when said active medium has achieved peak gain.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.