Open AccessPicosecond evolution of pulsed and CW alkali vapor lasers: laser oscillation buildup
Author(s) -
Binglin Shen,
Yanping Li,
Liwei Liu,
Junle Qu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.395871
Subject(s) - laser , nanosecond , picosecond , materials science , optics , pulse (music) , population , laser pumping , rate equation , oscillation (cell signaling) , relaxation (psychology) , injection seeder , physics , chemistry , psychology , social psychology , biochemistry , demography , quantum mechanics , detector , sociology , kinetics
Investigation of the kinetic principle of a diode-pumped alkali vapor laser (DPAL) is key to achieve multifunctional DPALs. In this work, we propose a spatiotemporal model, which combines the time-dependent rate equations of population densities and propagation equations of energies to study the dynamic processes from turn-on to steady-state in DPALs. Time evolution of population densities and pump and laser intensity are resolved on a picosecond time scale to study the build-up process of laser oscillations. For nanosecond-pulse pumping, we obtain a laser pulse of 1.6 ns and a delay time of 2.6 ns at an incident pulse width of 2 ns. This pulse can be stretched by increasing the pump pulse width and delayed by applying a more extended cavity. For CW operation, spiking and relaxation oscillations resulting from a dynamic balance of gain and losses are demonstrated to be much faster than other types of lasers.