Solid-State Laser Engineering

The first decade of solid-state Iaser technology has seen the development of an enormous number of lasing materials and a ! arge variety of interesting design concepts. However, in recent years the technology has matured to a point where solid-state Iasers have reached a plateau in their development. To a major extent, the growth in importance of solid-state Iasers for industrial and military applications and as a general research tool is due to the improvement in reliability and maintainability of these systems. The practical advances of these devices had several major consequences: A wealth of applications for solid-state Iasers has emerged in materials processing, holography, rangefinding, target illumination and designation, satellite and lunar ranging, thermonuclear fusion, plasma experiments, and in general for scientific work requiring high power densities. Emphasis has shifted from research and innovation to cost reduction and system improve­ ment. As a result, a standardization of the system designs occurred. This book, written from an industrial vantage-point, provides a detailed discussion of solid-state Iasers, their characteristics, design and construction, and practical problems. The title Solid-State Laser Engineering is chosen so as to convey the emphasis which is placed on engineering and practical considerations.

1 Optical amplification. - 2 Properties of solid-state laser materials. - 3 Laser oscillator. - 4 Laser amplifier. - 5 Optical resonator. - 6 Optical pump systems. - 7 Heat removal. - 8 Q-switches and external switching devices. - 9 Mode locking. - 10 Nonlinear devices. - 11 Design of lasers relevant to their application. - 12 Damage of optical elements. - Appendix A: Laser safety. - Appendix B: Conversion factors and constants.