Abstract

For numerous applications, including investigation of material and device properties of various optical and optoelectronic devices (such as those composed of GaAs and related III-V compounds), there has been a long-existing need for stable, turn-key, high repetition rate sources of short pulse (sub-nanosecond to sub-picosecond) laser radiation in the near infrared, particularly those that are continuously tunable in the 0.7 µm to 1.0 µm range. Although this need is partially satisfied by external cavity diode lasers, and partially by synchronously and passively mode-locked near infrared dye lasers¹, problems such as limited tunability, poor long-term stability (deterioration in a few weeks of continuous usage), liquid handling problems, short term instabilities (due to dye jet fluctuations), etc., create the need for alternative solutions, such as those based on tunable solid-state laser materials

© 1987 Optical Society of America