Abstract
This paper describes an optically simple, Ti:sapphire ring oscillator that is designed to produce precisely timed single-frequency pulses. Inject ion-seeded Ti:sapphire ring oscillators have been developed by other groups in earlier work.1 This work differs in that it is motivated primarily by the need to reduce the jitter in the buildup that is characteristic of many other pulsed single- frequency Ti:sapphire oscillators. The oscillator, shown in Fig, 1, is a discrete- element three-mirror ring oscillator in which the only intracavity element is the Ti:sapphire crystal. The ring configuration is used to avoid spatial hole burning. The cavity length is 11 cm with inclusion of the index of Ti:sapphire. Output couplers with reflectivities of 66 and 77% R are used in the oscillator, which is pumped with a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser and seeded with a 30-m W single-mode laser diode operating at 784 nm. The collimated seed beam is injected into the ring cavity through the output coupler. The power oí the seed beam incident on the coupler is 11 mW. When the ring oscillator is seeded, the oscillation becomes unidirectional. The length of the ring cavity is stabilized with a lock-in feedback loop to match a particular longitudinal mode of the ring to the frequency of the seed beam.
© 1992 Optical Society of America
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