Open AccessGeneration of high-energy, kilohertz-rate narrowband tunable ultraviolet pulses using a burst-mode dye laser system
Author(s) -
Rongchao Pan,
Ulrich Retzer,
Thomas Werblinski,
Mikhail N. Slipchenko,
Terrence R. Meyer,
Lars Zigan,
Stefan Will
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
optics letters/optics index
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.524
H-Index - 272
eISSN - 1071-2763
pISSN - 0146-9592
DOI - 10.1364/ol.43.001191
Subject(s) - materials science , laser , optics , ultraviolet , dye laser , pulse (music) , burst mode (computing) , optical parametric oscillator , narrowband , pulse duration , optoelectronics , wavelength , physics , electrical engineering , detector , engineering
Typical commercial pulsed dye laser systems used in the generation of narrowband, tunable ultraviolet radiation for planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) imaging are optimized for either high (∼5-10 kHz) repetition rates at comparatively low ultraviolet pulse energies (hundreds of microjoules) or high-output pulse energies (>10 mJ) at comparatively low repetition rates (∼10 Hz). In this work we use a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG burst-mode laser to pump a custom dye laser system for high pulse energies and repetition rates of 7.5, 10, and 20 kHz at 566 nm. The frequency-doubled output of over 2.2 mJ/pulse at 283 nm, which can be used for PLIF imaging of combustion radicals, is an order of magnitude higher per pulse energy as compared with continuously pulsed dye laser systems and is ∼3× higher in overall efficiency than a burst-mode optical parametric oscillator at similar wavelengths. The influence of repetition rate, pump energy, and dye concentration on the output conversion efficiency and pulse-to-pulse stability of the current system is discussed.