Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive

Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection

1982

The construction of a Nd:YAG laser.

Jung, Jin Won.

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THESIS
THE CONSTRUCTION OF A ND:YAG LASER

by

Jin Won Jung

June 198 2

Th( 3sis Ad 1
/i sor : A . W Cooper

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4. TITLE l»r><i Subtitle)
Master's Thesis
"The Construction of a Nd:YAG Laser" Tune 1982
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. AUTHOR.*,)

Jin Won Jung

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Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey, California 93940
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IS. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

IS KEY WOROS (C~«,nu. on r.~r.. •<•• " ».c....rr — HmMlf *T W«* «—»~J

Laser Neodymium

20 ABSTRACT rC-f.llPU. an r.~r*« .14* II nmcmmmmr •»« IMmmIIT •* "'•«* — •••O

A neodymium laser was constructed with a locally

designed
Laser action was achieved
circular cylindrical pumping cavity.
under conditions predicted.
and tne
A Nd-YAG crystal was selected for use in the laser,
from the
physical and chemical properties of Nd:YAG as compiled
literature are presented. The theoretical and experimental
Nd:YAG laser system, and a (contmuec
approach for designing the

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Item 20. (Continued)

detailed description of the laser system are given, with the

expected operational characteristics extrapolated from measure-
ments on a commercial laser.
After a series of the tests, lasing action was observed at
the input power of 3.6 kw. The efficiency of the output power
to input was found to be 0.04% (slope) or 0.008% overall,
approximately 20% of the values for a comparable commercial laser
The low laser efficiency is ascribed to low cavity pumping
efficiency and inadequate cooling. Recommendations are made for
improvement of system performance.

U73
"ifiCTs 2 UNCLASSTFTF.n
S/N 0102-014-6601 ucuaov c.Mine.Tto
Approved for public release; distribution unlimited

The Construction of a Nd:YAG Laser

by

Jin Won Jung

Lieutenant Colonel, Korean Army
B.S., Korean Military Academy, 1967

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PHYSICS

from the

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL

June, 1982
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ABSTRACT

A neodymium laser was constructed with a locally designed

circular cylindrical pumping cavity. Laser action was

achieved under conditions predicted.

A Nd:YAG crystal was selected for use in the laser, and

the physical and chemical properties of Nd:YAG as compiled

from the literature are presented. The theoretical and

experimental approach for designing the Nd:YAG laser system,

and a detailed description of the laser system are given,

with the expected operational characteristics extrapolated

from measurements on a commercial laser.

After a series of the tests, lasing action was observed

at the input power of 3.6 KW. The efficiency of the output

power to input was found to be 0.04% (slope) or 0.008% overall

approximately 20% of the values for a comparable commercial

laser. The low laser efficiency is ascribed to low cavity

pumping efficiency and inadequate cooling. Recommendations

are made for improvement of system performance.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION -- 8

II. PROPERTIES OF Nd:YAG CRYSTALS 11

A. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF Nd:YAG 11

B. ENERGY LEVELS OF TRIVALENT NEODYNIUM 14

C. FLUORESCENCE PROPERTIES OF NdrYAG 16

1. FLUORESCENCE LIFETIME 16

2. FLUORESCENCE CONVERSION EFFICIENCY 16

III. CONSIDERATION OF DESIGN OF THE LASER SYSTEM 18

A. REFLECTOR BASE MATERIAL 18

B. PUMP SOURCE 19

C. GEOMETRY OF PUMPING CAVITY 2

D. LASER ROD -- 20

E. COOLING - 21

IV. CONSTRUCTION OF THE LASER 2 3

A. OPTICAL PUMPING CAVITY AND LASER ROD 23

B. OPTICAL PUMPING CAVITY AND LASER ROD COOLING

SYSTEM - 24

C. OPTICAL RESONATOR 26

V. DETECTOR 29

VI. ASSEMBLY OF THE LASER 30

VII. OPERATION OF THE LASER 32

A. MEASUREMENT OF FLUORESCENCE 32

B. MEASUREMENT OF LASER OUTPUT 33

5
 C. DISCUSSIONS -- 34

- 1. COOLING SYSTEM -- - 34

2. LASER OUTPUT 35

3. EFFICIENCIES 36

VIII. CONCLUSIONS 42

APPENDIX A. LOCATION OF LAMPS IN CIRCULAR CYLINDRICAL

CAVITY 54

LIST OF REFERENCES -- -- 55

BIBLIOGRAPHY 57

INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST 58

 K

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure

1. LINEWIDTH OF Nd:YAG 1.06 um FLUORESCENT LINE

WITH" TEMPERATURE 44

2. LINE SHIFT OF A NdiYAG 1.06 nm FLUORESCENT LINE

WITH TEMPERATURE 44

3. ENERGY LEVEL DIAGRAM OF Nd:YAG -- 44

4. FLUORESCENCE SPECTRUM OF Nd 3+ IN YAG AT 300°

IN THE REGION OF 1.06 um 45

5. ABSORPTION SPECTRUM OF NdrYAG AT 300OK 45

6. THE LIFETIME DEPENDENCE OF THE 1.06 ym FLUORESCENT

LINE IN NdrYAG WITH Nd 3+ CONCENTRATION --- 46

7. RELATIVE FLUORESCENCE CONVERSION EFFICIENCY

OF Nd:YAG AT 300°K 46

8. REFLECTIVITY VERSUS WAVELENGTH FOR METALS COMMONLY

USED IN THE DESIGN OF A LASER PUMP CAVITY 47

9. RELATIVE PERFORMANCE OF KRYPTON AND TUNGSTEN-

IODINE LAMPS FOR THE CONTINUOUS PUMPING OF YAGrNd 3*- 47

10. GENERAL VIEW OF THE LASER SYSTEM 48

11. OPTICAL PUMPING CAVITY -- -- 49

12. END PLATE --- 50

13. LASER ROD MOUNTING ASSEMBLY 50

14. DETAIL OF PUMP LAMP HOLDING ASSEMBLY " 51

15. TEMPERATURE OF CAVITY INTERIOR 5 2

16. THE SPECTRAL RESPONSE OF PIN-10DP 52

17. FLUORESCENCE MEASURED FROM K-Y2 AND HOMEMADE

LASER SYSTEM 5 3

18. LASER OUTPUT OF HOMEMADE SYSTEM 53

7
 I. INTRODUCTION

This thesis work is related to the construction of a

Nd:YAG laser for studying atmospheric transmission properties,

which was done by f

Harrow [1] in 1972 for the purpose of

analyzing atmospheric transmission over Monterey Bay.

Generally, the Nd:YAG laser is the most commonly used

type of solid state laser at the present time having several

merits relative to other solid state lasers. The 1.06 urn

radiation characteristic of neodynium is in the near

infrared and lies in a very transparent portion of the

atmosphere. Detectors for this wavelength are relatively

simple and inexpensive. Also neodynium lasers can be

operated in a continuous wave mode at sufficiently high

output powers to insure a meaningful range. And the cubic

structure of YAG favors a narrow threshold for laser operation

The homemade double-elliptical pump cavity built in

1972 was checked relative to the commercial K-Y2 (KORAD)

system. It was found that the fluorescence generated in

the homemade cavity was less than half of that in the K-Y2,

at the threshold input power condition.

Empirical data shows that small elliptical cavities

with small ratio of major axis to rod diameter are more

efficient than large cavities in several respects, such as

the fraction of direct radiation and singly reflected

radiation absorbed, and the probability of lost radiation

being redirected to the rod.

Actually, the homemade double-elliptical pump cavity

is about three times as big as the commercial laser system,

K-Y2, with the same size of laser rod, and the same tungsten

lamps and cooling system. The method used to shape the

ellipse of the homemade cavity was very crude and the

surface of the cavity is also crude with several dots and

scracthes, which resulted in lower efficiencies of focusing

and reflectivity than expected. For the above reasons, it

was found necessary to make a new pumping cavity for further

operation of the laser.

In order to avoid the machining difficulties of the

elliptical shape which could not be overcome in the local

machine shop and to compensate for the low reflectivity of

the cavity wall, a circular-cylindrical pumping cavity

with four 1000 watts lamps was made by the Physics Depart-

ment machine shop and used for this thesis work. While it

was realized that the efficiency of this cavity would be

low, the large increase in pump power was expected to

allow the lasing threshold to be achieved. It was also

recognized that the high input power with low efficiency

would require additional cooling capacity.

 The fluorescent emission from each rod was monitored as

a function of pumping powers using the same geometry in

each case. The PIN-10 detector was mounted in each case

to detect the total emission of fluorescent radiation,

filtered at 1.06 ym, emitted axially from the end of the

laser rod.

10
 II. PROPERTIES OF Nd:YAG CRYSTALS

Over the past several years, a great deal of research

has been accomplished in the development of solid state

laser materials and systems. Among the most thoroughly

studied has been the neodymium laser emitting radiation

at 1.06 urn. through a variety of host materials. The primary

host materials studied have been glass and yttrium aluminum

garnet (YAG) and it is known that neodymium doped yttrium

aluminum garnet (NdiYAG) possesses a combination of properties

uniquely favorable for high power laser operation.

Although other crystalline materials have been tried as

the host material, glass and YAG have certain characteristics

which make them much better for high repetition rate, Q-

switched laser systems.

A. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF Nd:YAG

The YAG structure is stable from the lowest temperatures

up to its melting point and no transformations have been

reported in the solid phase. The strength and hardness

of YAG are lower than Ruby but still high enough that

normal fabrication procedures do not produce any serious

breakage problems. Pure Y3AI5O2 is a colorless, optically

isotropic crystal which posseses a cubic structure

11
 ?

TABLE I

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF Nd:YAG

Chemical Formula Y,Alr0i : Nd

Crystal Structure

Symmetry Cubic

Space group Oh-^-I a 3d

Lattice constant - 12.01 Angstroms

Melting point 1970OC

Hardness

MOHS scale 8.5

Vickers (111) --- 1548"

Specific gravity 4.56+_.04

Water absorption Zero

Solubility

Water Insoluble

Common acids -
Slightly

Thermal expansion coefficient (0-250°C)

(100) Orientation S.ZxlO-^C" 1

_1
(110) Orientation 7.7xl0- 5o C
_1
(111) Orientation 7.8xl0- 6o C

Thermal conductivity

20°C 0.0320 cal/sec-°C-cm

40O C 0.0290

100°C 0.0250

200°C 0.0225
12
 TABLE I (Contd)

Specific heat capacity (0-20°C) 0.141 cal/gm-oC

s 2
Modulus of elasticity 0.45x10 lb/in
3 2
Tensile strength 25-30xl0 lb/in

Poisson ratio 0.3 (est)

Refractive index -
1.82+.. 003

Output polarization -- -
Unpolarized

Brewster's angle 61.2°

Critical angle 33.3°

Normal dopant level Nd 3+ -- 0.7% by weight

19 2
Stimulated emission cross section 2 . 7-8 8x10"
. cm

Relaxation time C 1 11/ 2 " ^^9/2-^ ^° ns

Radiative lifetime 4F - 4l " 55 ° Us

( 3 /2 n/2)
Spontaneous fluorescence lifetime 230 us
-1
Scatter losses 0.002 cm
19
Photon energy at 1.06 urn 1.86xlO" J

13
characteristic of garnets. The YAG host is hard, of good

optical quality, and has a high thermal conductivity.

In Nd:YAG, trivalent neodymiura substitutes for trivalent

yttrium, so charge compensation is not required. And there

is practically no competition for the Nd 3+ . The radii of
the two rare earth ions differ by about 3%. Therefore,
with the addition of large amounts of neodymium, strained

crystals are obtained - indicating that either the solubility

limit of neodymium is exceeded or that the lattice of YAG

is seriously distorted by the inclusion of neodymium.

Some of the important physical and chemical properties of

YAG are listed in Table 1.

Figure 1 and 2 are graphs showing some of the optical

properties as functions of temperature. The values given

in the table and graphs were collected from various

references cited in the bibliography.

B. ENERGY LEVELS OF TRIVALENT NEODYMIUM

The Nd:YAG laser is a four- level system as depicted

by an energy level diagram in Figure 3. [2]. The laser

o
transition, having a wavelength of 10641 A, originates

from the F3/2 level and terminates at the In/2 level.

The decay processes from the higher energy band to the

^3/2 state are fast, nonradiative transitions. At room

temperature only 40% of the F3/2 population is at level

R2 ; the remaining 60% is at the lower sublevel R^ according

14
to Boltzmann's law. Lasing takes place only by R2 ions

whereby the R2 level population is replenished from the

R^ by thermal transition. The upper laser level, F3/2,

has a flourescence efficiency greater than 99.5% [3],

and a radiative lifetime of 230 usee. [4], The branching

ratio of emission from F3/2 is as follows; [5]

4 4 4 4
F
3/2 '" X
9/2
= °- 25 > F
3/2
""" X
ll/2
= °- 60 '

4 4 4 4
F X °* 14 F I < 0.01.
3/2 13/2 '
3/2 15/2

This means that almost all the ions transferred from the

ground level to the pump bands end up at the upper laser

level, and 60% of the ions at the upper laser level cause
4
flourescence output at the ^n/? manifold. The ground
4
level of Nd:YAG is the Iq/? level. The relaxation of
4 4
the lii/2 state t0 tne ground state, I9/2 *s f ast

enough to allow the crystal to support continuous wave

lasing action at room temperature. This is the most

important advantage of neodymium over ruby and other

three-level systems where the lasing transition takes

place to the ground state.

Figure 4 [6] shows the fluorescence spectrum of Nd 3+

in YAG near the region of the laser output with the

corresponding energy levels for the various transition.

 The absorption of Nd:YAG in the range of 0.3 to 0.9 ym

is given in Figure 5. [7].

C. FLUORESCENCE PROPERTIES OF Nd:YAG

For design optimization of a solid state laser system

it is important to know particular properties of the crystal's

fluorescence. They are the fluorescence lifetime and the

fluorescence conversion efficiency under optical exitation.

1. Fluorescence Lifetime

The fluorescence decay of Nd:YAG from the F7/7

4
energy level to the Iii/? l eve l is almost independent of

temperature in the range 300-500°K. The average fluorescence

lifetime as determined by Thorton, et al., [8] in this

temperature range was 228 +_ 15 usee. The accepted value

quoted in most other sources is around 240 usee. The

fluorescence lifetime is a strong function of the neodymium

doping level as presented in Figure 6.

2. Fluorescence Conversion Efficiency

The excitation energy for a laser system usually

extends over a broad spectral range, and it is worthwhile

to know how effectively the laser material converts the

absorbed pumplight into fluorescence.

The 1.06 um relative fluorescence conversion

efficiency at 300°K as a function of excitation wavelength

is presented in Figure 7 [9]. This curve is temperature

16
dependent in the temperature range 300-500°K. Although not

shown in Figure 7, the peaks at 0.52 urn and 0.59 pm increase

significantly with temperature and become dominant over those

in the infrared at approximately 475°K. The peaks located

in the infrared portion of the curve are essentially

temperature independent.

17
 III. CONSIDERATION OF DESIGN OF THE LASER SYSTEM

In construction of a pump cavity, several critical

design areas can be identified; these are efficient cooling

of laser rod, lamps and reflector; design of the various

0-ring seals; the selection of the reflector base material,

polishing and plating procedures, and prevention of arcing.

The mechanical design of a cavity is determined mainly

by two considerations; the geometry chosen for efficient

energy transfer from the pump source to the laser material,

and the provisions required for extracting the heat generated

by the pump source.

A. REFLECTOR BASE MATERIAL

The metals most commonly employed to obtain specular

reflecting surfaces in laser cavities are Aluminum, Silver

and Gold. The reflective metal surfaces are usually

obtained by evaporation, sputtering, polishing, or electro-

plating. Commonly used base materials are copper and

aluminum. Copper has almost double the thermal conductivity

and lower thermal expansion compared to aluminum, but it

is much more expensive and heavier.

The reflectivities of metal surfaces are wavelength

dependent. For CW-pumped Nd:YAG laser, where most of

18
the pumping occurs in the wavelength region between 0.7

and 0.9 urn, gold is used almost exclusively. The reflectance

versus wavelength of materials is shown in Figure 8. [10].

B. PUMP SOURCE

For the CW operation of Nd:YAG, the majority of systems

employ either Krypton-filled arc lamps or Tungsten-halogen

filament lamps. The krypton arc lamp has an 800 W/cm

electrical input with 15kw maximum input per lamp, while

the standard tungsten filament lamp has an 275 W/cm

electrical input and 1.5kw maximum input per lamp.

The output of a krypton-arc lamp as a radiated

efficiency over the range 0.3 urn - 1.2 ym of 61 percent

and an intense line output at 0.81 ym which is efficiently

abosrbed by neodymium-doped laser hosts. [11]. The tungsten

lamp emits only 30 percent of its energy at wavelengths

shorter than 1 ym. [12].

Typical overall efficiencies obtainable in krypton-

pumped NdrYAG lasers are between 2 and 3 percent, while

that of the tungsten lamp is 1 to 1.5 percent. [13].

Krypton-arc pumped Nd:YAG lasers have currently the

highest power, but for lower power applications, tungsten

lamps have the advantage of simplicity and low cost. The

emphirical relative performances of krypton and tungsten-

iodine lamps are given in Figure 9. [14].

19
C. GEOMETRY OF THE PUMPING CAVITY

The experimental work carried out on pump cavity design

shows that a single elliptical cylinder and a spherical

cavity are the best for maximum efficiency and relatively

short laser rod, up to 10 cm in length. The double

elliptical cavity is less efficient but it is widely

used at the present time.

Small elliptical cavities with low major axis to rod

diameter ratio are more efficient that large cavities.

In a small elliptical cavity the fraction of direct radiation

is high, and most of the pump radiation is incident

on the rod after a single reflection on the cavity walls.

Another strong argument for making elliptical cavities

as small as possible is the increased probability of the

lost radiation being redirected to the laser rod if the

ratio of the cavity volume to laser rod volume is small.

D. LASER ROD

Commercially available laser crystals are grown

exclusively by the Czochraeski method. At the present

time, rods can be fabricated with maximum diameter of

about 10mm and length of up to 150 mm.

Neodymium concentration by atom percent in YAG has

been limited to 1.0 to 1.5%. Higher doping levels tend

to shorten the fluorescent lifetime, broaden the line-

width, and cause strain in the crystal, resulting in poor

20
 .

optical quality. In specifying Nd:YAG rods, the emphasis

is on size, dimensional tolerance, doping level, and passive

tests of rod quality. For CW operation a low doping con-

centration from 0.6 to 0.8% [15] is usually chosen to

obtain good beam quality.

E. COOLING

There are two basic cooling methods, water cooling and

forced air cooling. The primary purpose of the liquid is

to remove the heat generated in the laser rod, pump

source, and laser cavity. Sometimes the coolant serves

as a filter to remove undesirable pump radiation. 101

of Potassium Dichormate solution is used to filter out the

blue and near-ultra-violet radiation, since there is

evidence that these wavelengths can produce color centers

(solarization) and increase the CW threshold level in some

YAG crystals. [16]

The temperature increase of the coolant as it passes

through the laser cavity is given by T = Q/C .m where Q

is the extracted heat, C is the specific heat of the

coolant, and m is the mass flow rate.

Forced air is sometimes used to cool the laser rod

and flash lamp in low average power lasers . For standard

air (20° C, 1 atm) we obtain

£ 49 x P(W) , , [17]
v
AT(°C)
ltr/mm
t

21
where f is the airflow, AT is the temperature difference

between inlet air and exhausted air and P is the heat

extraction. If 300 to 600 ltr/min of airflow at a static

pressure of 30 torr and 16°C temperature difference is

applied, the heat removed ranges from 100 - 200 watts.

22
 IV. CONSTRUCTION OF THE LASER

The laser system has three major subsystems consisting

of the optical pumping cavity, laser rod and cavity cooling

systems, and optical resonator. The other systems used

are Variac power supply, detectors, and heat removal fan.

Figure 10 shows general view of the laser system.

A. OPTICAL PUMPING CAVITY AND LASER ROD

The cavity geometry is a circular cylindrical cavity

with four lamps. The rod is aligned parallel to the cylindrical

axis at center. Figure 11 is a detailed drawing of the

cavity. The cavity was machined from a solid block of

aluminum by drilling out the core and was then hand polished.

The inside surface of the cavity was finished by machine

drilling and so it is quite crude. The end plates in

Figure 12 were made from 5/16 inch aluminum plates with

5 holes for heat removal by air convection. Optical

pumping of the rod is accomplished with four tungsten-

iodide, quartz-envelope lamps placed at a certain distance

for diffusive focusing. The lamps used are manufactured

by General Electric, mfg stock no. Q1000T3/4CL with a rated

output of 1000 watts at 120 volts. Figure 14 shows the

details of the lamp mounting assembly.

23
 The Nd:YAG laser rod used has the following dimensions:

it is cylindrical in shape with a diameter of 3mm and

length of 75mm. The ends are cut plane parallel with an

anti-ref lection coating for 1.06 ym. Two rods of identical

specifications were purchased; one from Crystal Optics

Research Inc., and the other from the Airtron Division of

Litton Industries.

B. OPTICAL PUMPING CAVITY AND LASER ROD COOLING SYSTEM

Since the pump cavity is designed to use 4000 watts

of input power, both liquid cooling and air-flow cooling

methods are adopted for removing heat efficiently. The

liquid cooling system is the K-WC3 laser cooler which was

originally designed for the K-Y2 Nd:YAG laser (KORAD)

with cooling capacity of 1800 watts, and its recommended

operating flow rate is 2 - 2.2 GPM. This K-WC3 employs

a deionizer to maintain the low electrical conductivity

necessary for water in the laser head.

The cooling water goes to the laser rod first which is

enclosed in a 1cm diameter pyrex glass tube and flows

through 12 holes serially connected in the cavity block.

The flow rate was 2 GPM and the initial inlet water

temperature was 20°C and outlet water temperature was 25°C.

After 9 minutes operation with 4400 watts of input power

the inlet water temperature was 28°C and the outlet

water temperature was 34°C.

24
 Figure 13 displays the details of the laser rod mounting

and cooling assembly.

A high speed fan (model No. B7A81C-2DR: Eastern Air

Devices Inc.) which has a 100 CFM capacity at 3300 RPM

at 0.6 ampere and 120 volts was installed on a tripod

about 1 feet high in order to cool mainly the lamps.

Forced air cooling with 100 CFM was identified to be

sufficient for this Nd:YAG laser system by showing that

about half of the total heat can be removed.

The temperature inside the cavity was measured with

a thermocouple with digital reading (Doric Scientific.

Model 403A). The temperature inside the cavity measured

with the fan operating and without the fan is given in

Figure 15.

The temperature increase in the cavity was linearly

dependent on increase of the input power. Temperature

measurement without the fan was recommended to be done

only below 2000 watts of input power because of the

possibility of lamp breakage. Temperature measurement with

fan was limited at 1100°C inside cavity, corresponding

to 2800 watts of input power, because the insulation

cover on the thermo-couple began to burn.

The heat extracted by forced air convection, calculated

by the formula; f
y
= 49xP (W)/AT(°C) , was about 1300 watts

where AT is 23°C, and input power was 2800 watts. The

25
temperature measurement of the outlet air was a little

crude because of sensitivity to position of the thermo-

couple and so a low temperature difference was used in

calculation. No temperature measuring device was installed

at the rod inlet making it impossible to determine the

exact thermal gradient along the length of the rod.

C. OPTICAL RESONATOR

The optical resonator consisted of two, one inch

diameter mirrors, one flat and the other spherically-

curved with a radius of curvature of 1.5 meters. The

flat mirror was dielectric coated on one side for 90%

reflectance and coated on the other side for maximum

transmission. The curved surface of the spherical mirror

was coated for maximum reflection. These mirrors were

purchased from Valpey Corp., and according to specto-

photoraeter recordings supplied by the manufacturer,

the coatings are effective over a narrow bandwidth of

a
about 100 A centered at 1.06 urn.

The mirrors were mounted in two inch diameter laser

mounts using adapter rings. The mounts have orthogonal,

micrometer adjustments with an angular resolution of 1

arc second. Longitudinal adjustment can be made by

positioning of the adapter rings within the mount.

The confocal mirror configuration gives the smallest

possible mode dimension with the mirror separation being

26
 .

equal to radius of curvature of the mirror. This consists

of identical spherical mirrors separated by a distance

equal to the radius of curvature. In addition, this

arrangement is much easier to align than a flat mirror

resonator. The angular adjustment accuracy required is

reduced from about 1 arc second to about one quarter

degree. [18]

To determine the optimum mirror spacing for a curved,

flat mirror resonator, normally referred to as half-

confocal, examine the radiation field distribution of a

confocal system.

For a confocal resonator the field intensity, perpen-

dicular to the resonator axis, is concentrated near the

axis and falls off smoothly away from the axis. In

particular, theory shows that for the lowest mode (TEMoo)

this lateral distribution is approximately Gaussian.

The amplitude is proportional to

2 7T p
2
d
exp [19]

where p is the lateral distance from the axis, and z is

the distance from the midpoint. The mirrors are located

at z = +_ d/2. The amplitude drops by a factor of 1/e in

a lateral distance equal to

2 2
X (d + 4z )
ps =
\ 27rd

27
This is called the spot size. At the center, z = 0, the

spot size is >/Xd/ 2*tf , whereas at either mirror, z = +_ d/2,

the spot size is yjxd/-n .

Hence, for the half-confocal resonator the ideal

location for the flat mirror is at exactly one-half the

radius of curvature of the spherical mirror. To visualize

this, place a flat mirror at the midpoint of a confocal

resonator (half the radius of curvature) ; the effect is

optically to fold one curved mirror into the other.

Therefore the flat mirror receives the maximum intensity

from the curved mirror, reducing diffraction losses and

alignment problems. For the mirrors used this leads to

the resonator length of 75cm used in this project.

28
 V. DETECTOR

There are several good, inexpensive detectors available

for use with 1.06 urn radiation.

The detector selected for determining if the lasing

threshold was reached was a PIN-10DP photodiode. The PIN-

10DP has 1 cm 2 active area and is sealed in a 1 inch O.D.

metal housing with BNC output connector. The PIN-10DP is

optimized for unbiased operation (photovoltaic) into a

current mode op amp, featuring high detector resistance

and, thereby, linear light sensing. The relative sensitivity

of a PIN-10DP diode to 1.06 urn radiation is approximately

201. The spectral response of the PIN-10DP is given by

Figure 16.

The laser power meter, Model 36-0001; Scientech Inc.

was used for measuring laser output. A one inch aperature

allows the laser beam to strike the disc calorimeter

deep within the body. Its specifications are as follows;

spectral response is from 0.25 to 35 microns, power

range is from 10 yw to 10 watts, output calibration is

88.4 millivolts per watt, and its accuracy is +_ 3%.

29
 ,

VI. ASSEMBLY OF THE LASER

The mirror mounts and laser cavity were mounted to

an optical bench consisting of 4 inch aluminum channel

stock 5.5 feet in length. The optical bench was mounted

on a laboratory table about 42 inches high. The cavity

and mirrors were mounted such that the rod and mirror

centers would be colinear. The mirrors in precision

gimballed mounts were spaced 75cm apart with the cavity

10cm from the flat mirror. This was considered optimum

as previously discussed.

The resonator was aligned using a He-Ne laser with

focusing lenses installed in front of the laser to direct

the beam. A mounting assembly was constructed that

would accept either apparatus, adjustable in any direction

to facilitate alignment with the rod axis. Once the

laser was aligned with the rod axis the mirrors were

lined up by superimposing their respective reflections

on a common point.

The water cooling system for the rod was connected

using 1.3 cm plastic tubing. The lamps were wired in

parallel through an ammeter to four General Radio Variacs

Type W10MT3, with a maximum power rating of 1100 watts,

8.5 amps and 130 volts per Variac. Power was supplied to

30
the Variacs from a conventional wall receptacle located in

the laboratory.

For convenience, the rear mirror (spherical mirror)

was aligned first, and then the front mirror (flat mirror)

was aligned.

31
 VII. OPERATION OF THE LASER

Basically, adequate pumping and precise optical align-

ment are the key factors to achieve lasing. To determine

lasing conditions, two series of tests were made; measurement

of the fluorescence, and measurement of laser output

power.

A. MEASUREMENT OF FLUORESCENCE

The first series of tests consisted of measuring the

fluorescent output as a function of pumping power for the

homemade system and comparing the results with those for

the K-Y2 laser system. Fluorescence power emitted from

a laser medium is a direct measure of the upper laser

state population. The fluorescent radiated power emitted

from the commercial K-Y2 laser rod at the lasing threshold

was taken as an estimate of the required threshold

fluorescence for the homemade system, since the two rods

are of comparable size and quality. The fluorescent

emission from each rod was monitored as a function of

input pump power, using the same geometry for each laser

pumping cavity. The PIN-10DP detector was mounted in

each case to measure the total fluorescent power, filtered

at 1.06 pm, emitted axially from the end of the laser

rod, as the pumping power was increased. Lasing threshold

32
pump power was determined for the K-Y2 laser in an in-

dependent series of measurements. This threshold fluorescence

was found to be 1.75 uw for the K-Y2. With the homemade

cylindrical cavity, this power level was attained with an

input power of 3600 watts to the pumping lamps. When the

maximum available power of 4400 watts was applied the

fluorescent power detected reached 2.4 uw, which indicated

that the lasing threshold should be achieved. A detailed

comparison of the measured fluorescence from the K-Y2 and

the homemade laser system is given in Figure 17.

B. MEASUREMENT OF LASER OUTPUT

After several trials of the alignment procedure with

the He-Ne laser, lasing output was achieved. With resonator

spacing of 75 cm, 0.35 watts of output power was observed

at the input power of 4400 watts, which was the maximum

available input of this system. This output power agreed

with that expected from the comparison of fluorescence

between the K-Y2 and the homemade laser system.

When lasing was detected, the overall efficiency of

output to input power was very low, about 0.0081. The

slope efficiency which is the incremental efficiency as

the power is increased above the threshold value is 0.04%.

The corresponding efficiencies for the K-Y2 cavity were

measured as 0.05% and 0.2% respectively. The output

power measurement is given in Figure 18.

33
C. DISCUSSION

When lasing was detected, the efficiency of the homemade

laser system was very low, and the cooling system was found

to be inadequate for continuous operation of the system.

Also, as the cooling water temperature increased the output

power was observed to decrease continuously with time. Due

to the time limitation further experimentation to develop

an adequate cooling system was suspended.

1. Cooling System

During the operation of the laser system the inlet

cooling water temperature was observed to increase rapidly

relative to the K-Y2 system operation. The K-Y2 measure-

ments showed thermal stabilization with the K-WC3 closed

cycle laser cooler at around 26° for the inlet water

temperature, and 29°C for the outlet water temperature

at the 2 kw input power. But the homemade laser system

with the K-WC3 laser cooler and a high speed fan showed

a rapid increase of water temperature from 20°C to 28°C

for the inlet water and from about 25°C to 33°C for the

outlet water for 9 minutes operation with 4400 watts of

input power under the same water flow rate of 2 GPM. The

air temperature of the laboratory increased from 23°C to

24°C in this time.

At this point, it is difficult to determine the exact

input power overload for the existing cooling system,

34
but an approximate estimate is about 700 watts, where the

water tank capacity is 3 gallons, specific heat of water

is 4.18 joule/gm°C, and the temperature increase of the

tank water is 8°C for 9 minutes.

In order to meet these amounts of input power

overload, two ways could be considered; new design of a

water cooling system without fan or only adding a heat

transfer unit to the current system, and the implementation

of compressed introgen circulation by fan together with

the current water cooling system.

2. Laser Output

As mentioned before, it was observed that output

power continued to decrease during the operation of the

system. The output power decreased from 0.35 watts to

0.25 watts in 9 minutes with 4400 watts of input power.

In order to determine the reason of output power decrease

several tests were made with changing the input power

from 3800 to 4400 watts for short period operation.

Since the cooling system was identified as

inadequate for long term operation, it was concluded

that thermal effects might cause the problem. Also it

is known that the reflectivity of the surface of the

pumping cavity decreases, depending on the temperature

increase.

35
 Basically, thermal effects in the laser rod are

brought about by a combination of heat generation due to

absorption of pump radiation and heat flow due to cooling

processes. Heating and cooling of the laser material

leads to a nonuniform temperature of the rod, which results

in a distortion of the laser beam due to the temperature

and stress dependent variation of the index of refraction.

And so it was estimated that the input power overload due

to the insufficient cooling capacity would lead to high

thermal gradients in the laser rod, which would lead to

optical distortions of the laser beam resulting in thermal

defocusing, and an increase of surface temperature inside

the pumping cavity.

3. Efficiencies

Even though lasing was detected, the efficiency

was very low, and very high threshold power is required.

There might be several factors which cause the low

efficiency and high threshold; however, discussions were

focused on the reflectivity of the pumping cavity surface

and the lamps.

Generally, output versus input power calculations

can be written: P ou t = a s (Pin " p th) [20], where P ou t is

output power, P^ n is input power, Pth is the lamp input

power required to achieve threshold and a is the slope

efficiency. The slope efficiency can be simply expressed

36
as follows: a s = 111112113114115, where n indicates individual

efficiency. The individual efficiency factors are defined

as follows: n-^ is the ratio of the absorbed pump power

to the fluorescence power of the laser transition; n2 is

the fraction of the electrical input power which results

in potentially useful radiation; n3 is the efficiency

obtained in transferring the useful radiation from the

pump source to the laser rod; n4 is the fraction of useful

pump light which is actually absorbed by the laser material.

This n4 parameter depends on the doping level and the

diameter of the laser rod and on the reflection losses of

the pump light on the rod surface; 115 is the output

coupling efficiency, and it can be optimized by proper

selection of the output mirror reflectivity. In CW-

pumped system the optimum output mirror reflectivity is

usually between 80% and 95%, and the output mirror of the

homemade laser system was identified as having 90% reflec-

tivity around the lasing wavelength.

The efficiency parameters n? and n, can be improved

by choosing better lamps and better pumping cavity.

Typical overall efficiencies obtainable in

Krypton -pumped Nd:YAG lasers are between 2 and 3 percent

which are a factor of two better than tungsten lamps, but

change of the lamps to Krypton-arc lamps is not practical

for the homemade laser system, simply because the Krypton-arc

37
 .

lamps requires a DC power supply while current tungsten

lamps showed enough pumping power and the advantage of

simplicity for lower power application.

As mentioned in Chapter IV, the reflectivity of

the pumping cavity is assumed to be very low and is

considered a major reason for low efficiency. The aluminum

material surface with evaporated films or well polished

has about 85% reflectivity in the wavelength region between

0.7 and 0.9 urn where most of the pumping occurs and about

90% reflectivity in the wavelength region of the ultraviolet

which is detrimental to Nd:YAG laser output, causing

solarization in the materials.

The homemade aluminum pumping cavity was machined

by drilling and then hand polished. The inside surface of

the cavity is quite crude, but it was not possible to

measure the roughness of the surface in the absence of an

instrument such as profilometer

At this point, it will be useful to estimate the

minimum efficiency of the cavity used. The minimum power

required to sustain laser threshold in a rod of volume V

can be written approximately as

. a 4 ir»cVChv) 1
f Au
*min —s
X v

where Av/v is the fractional linewidth of the laser

38
 > .

transition, \ is the transition wavelength, a£ is the gain

of the medium, and hv is the energy of the metas table state

The gain of the medium, a^, can be obtained from

af
the equation, I = I e , where L is the length of the

laser rod. Assuming that there is a built-in loss of 10%

at the transmitting mirror, and there is another 151 loss

associated with mirror absorption, diffraction losses, rod

imperfections and pyrex tube absorption, we can obtain

af ln(Io/(0.9)(0.85)Io) -
=
(cm } . 018 cm" *

2 x 7.5

and then P m i n for the laser rod used is

p min = °- 75 watts

by assuming that all excitation photons have energy of 1.86

13
x 10" joules (the energy of the F3/2 state).

However, the coupling of the optical light to the

rod is certainly not 100% efficient, and the average energy

of an excitation photon from a tungsten lamp is greater

19
than 1.86 x 10" joules. Assuming these losses raise P ra j n

by a factor of 2, then 1.5 watt is required to sustain

threshold.

To finish the calculation, we find the power that

would be available to the rod using the following data;

x
Professor A. W. Cooper, Department of Physics,
14 May 1982.

39
input power of threshold condition is 3600 watts measured

from the Homemade cavity, overall efficiency of the tungsten

lamps is 1%, and pyrex tube transmission is 88%, and then

only 32 watts of optical power is available for absorption

if all of it is imaged on the rod. Hence, the minimum

efficiency of the pumping cavity used Em ^ n , to sustain

threshold would be

E rain = UL x looi = 4.7%.

32

This efficiency is very low relative to that of the

well designed single elliptical cavity which has normally

about 30% - 50% efficiency in the small geoemtries with

the same size of rod and lamps used in Homemade cavity.

In the calculation of the theoretical value of

P
min» t ^ie C0U Pli n g °f optical power to the rod may be

considerably less than supposed. A low efficiency requires

an excessive input power resulting in insufficient cooling,

decreasing reflectivity of the cavity surface and increasing

the internal losses of the rod. If the magnitudes of

these losses were known and included in the calculation,

I^min would increase, and the minimum efficiency of the

cavity used would be about double the calculated value,

which would give a reasonable comparison with K-Y2 commercial

laser system in several respects.

40
 In order to improve the reflectivity of the surface

of the pumping cavity, the smoothness of the surface

should be improved and the surface of the cavity and the

endplates should be coated with gold. The reflectivity

of gold is 98% in the wavelength range of 0.7 - 0.9 ym

and below 45% in the wavelength range of the ultra-violet

region. [21]. Thus, the gold coating would increase

the reflection of useful pumping radiation as well as

decrease the undesirable ultraviolet reflection, both

leading to an improvement over the aluminum cavity

reflectivity. Reflective metal surfaces are usually

coated by evaporation, sputtering, polishing, or electro-

plating techniques. Among these methods, evaporated gold

is the best method for the homemade pumping cavity.

41
 VIII. CONCLUSIONS

Although lasing was detected with the four lamp

circular cylindrical pumping cavity, the lasing threshold

was very high and the efficiency was very low relative

to that of a normal commercial Nd:YAG laser system.

In the construction of the laser there are several

key factors; design of the pumping cavity and selection

of base material, resonator placement and reflectivity,

design of a cooling system and the selection of the pump-

ing source. It was necessary to make a new circular

cylindrical pumping cavity with 4000 watts input power

with diffusive focusing as the older double elliptical

cavity did not have an adequate pumping efficiency. The

pump cavity was designed for optimum size from the con-

sideration of a high fraction of direct radiation and a

need for efficient cooling with 12 water holes.

The fluorescence of the homemade pumping cavity showed

an almost linear increase with an input power increase

and reached the threshold condition as measured for the

K-Y2 commercial laser system at 3600 watts of input power.

After a series of tests, 0.35 watts of laser output

was detected. It was also determined that the input power

at threshold condition is around 3600 watts, as expected.

42
 At this point, the cooling system of the K-WC3 laser

cooler and the high speed fan was determined to be in-

adequate for 4000 watts of input power operation. A series

of tests for improving the efficiency of the homemade laser

system with a better cooling system is recommended.

Also, it is estimated that gold coating and other

improvements to the smoothness of the surface of the pump-

ing cavity and both end plates would increase their reflec-

tivity by up to a factor of two, which is a key factor

in getting a lower threshold and better efficiency from

the homemade laser system. Otherwise, a small single or

double elliptical pumping cavity of which efficiency is

much better than the homemade cavity, is recommended to

be purchased from the outside for better operation with the

current cooling system, being considered to be adequate

for this purpose.

43
 \

6
wu
X
+j
4
T3
•H
5 2
0>

•H
200 400 200 400
Temperature (K) Temperature (K)

Fig. 1 Linewidth of Nd:YAG Fig. 2. Lineshift of a

106 ym fluorescent NdrYAG 1.06 ym
line with Temperature fluorescent line
with Temperature
V77777\ Pump
20 Bands

18

16

1
14 11502 cm" (R 2 )
1
11414 cm' (Rl)
1 — 4F Laser
12 5/2
1
Transition
-

U 10 Laser -
6000 cm" 1

Transition *1 »

CO
© a
1—1
- _i
X r*~~- - _-4000 cm
V- *

X b 15/2
00
u
CD
c 4
15/2 <-?:.
w .2146
N>
•2111
11/2 ±-

211 Ground S*
n-5. «r
~
Level ***

Fig. 5. Energy level diagram of NdrYAG

44
 —

e
3
>s
5-i

5h
+->
•H
XI
J-.

0)
U
c
<D
U

u
o
3
V)
o

rH
ToSoi — 10*701 loeoi—
Wavelength
nteni
o
[A]

Fig. 4. Fluorescence spectrum of Nd 3 in

YAG at 300OK in the region of 1.06um

-1.0

-0.8

c 0.6-
0)
Q
0.4-
CO
u
•H
M -0.2
a
o

0.3
-0.

0.4 0.5
£k 0.6
^J
0.7 0.8 0.9

A [urn]

Fig. 5. Absorption spectrum of

Nd:YAG at 300°K

45
 3 250 -

J
+->
200

4-1

£ 150 -

o
c
100
o

•
o 50
3
Oh

Atom percent of Nd

Fig. 6 The lifetime dependence of the 1.06 urn

3+
Fluorescent line in Nd:YAG with Nd
concentration

100
<d
o
C
a>
o x 80
</) o
<d a
U <D
O -H
3 U 60
i— 1 -H
4-t <+H
4-1
a) <d
>
•H C 40
M O
aj -H
rH (/)

0) >-•

> 20
E C
3. O
U
vO
O
.56 .64 .72 .80 .88 90

Excitation wavelength
Fig 7. Relative fluorescence conversion efficiency
of Nd:YAG at 30QOK

46
 .

1.0

0.9 •

X
•M
0.8
•H
>
•H
0.7 evaporated films
U
<D
rH
VH
polished surfaces
0)
OS 0.6

0.5
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

Wavelength (urn)

Fig. 8. Reflectivity versus wavelength for metals

commonly used in the design of laser pump
cavities

e
o x
U -H
•H (/)

s c
o +->

o e
• -H
rH
c
<D O
> -H
•H 4->
+-> as
03 >H 0.5
rH T3
(1> 03
CC u
1.2 1.6 2.0

Lamp power (kw)

Fig. 9. Relative performance of krypton and tungsten

iodine lamps for continuous pumping of YAG:Nd 3 +

47
 2 34mm
174mm
124mm
79mm
(•— 6 5mm — *|

Lamp

Pumping I
100mm
d= Cavity =o
12mm Pyrex tube Optical
Axis
c= =OJ
80mm

{ 1
Water Inlet/Outlet
o o 22 . 5mm

194mm H
Front view of pumping cavity scale; 2mm :1mm

Vari ac

Power
Meter
Spherical
mirror Cavity

H Aluminum / f /// T *^"

-

K-WC3

Laser Cooler

Schematic sketch of the laser system

Fig. 10. General view of the Laser System

48
 100mm

O-ring seals

Water 'out let /inlet

O-
.•V- 1
- - ' w
VHole Dia.
9 ram

22 . 5mm
100mm
A
Optical axis view: Scale 1:1

65mm

Top view: Scale 1:1

Fig. 11. Optical pumping cavity

49
 I« 100mm 4

o C' Bolt holes

V
o

[
Lamp j [

\ hole
y \
° 100mm
—
XO 12
Pyrex
tube holder

o
0<3 °

o
o
Fig. 12. End plate: Scale 1:1
1
30mm

water flow hole 25mm

A.
Laser rod holder

10mm Pyrex tube

Laser rod
Cross section view: Scale 1:1

Fig. 13. Laser Rod Mounting Assembly

50
 100mm

eramic

Aperture
80mm

Ceramic

19mm

Front View: Scale 1:1

hex nuts

from power / \
supply *-ȣ a d i d n^
I
T
holding
plate 2 5mm

a i
ceramic
7 I
nuts

(I

Lamps

Cross section view: Scale 1:1

Fig. 14. Detail of pump lamp holding assembly-

Si
 actual
— expected y
s

3000

Inside
w/fan ^

Kx
cavity wall
w/fan

500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000

Power input (watts)

Fig. 15. The temperature inside cavity measured

with fan and without fan with 100 CFM.

•H
(/>

a
o
Cu
<A
<1>

(h

+J 2=
3 3.

o < 10
</> 3.

5
-

3 2.0 3.0 4. a 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 1.0 1.1

Wavelengths (microns)
Fig. 16. The spectral response of PIN-10DP

52
 —

•
>

—2_/
1

3
K-Y2
/

/
2 •
/
threshold /
level /
homemade -i>'
•

1.75 *
u *
c /

<u
u
t/>

u .'

3 * >*
o

,^v-'-r 1 1 1
i . _l

Input power (kW)

Fig. 17. Fluorescence measured from K-Y2
and homemade laser system

0.4

0.3 -

0.2
M
3
a,

3
O
0.1

12 Input power (kw)

3 4

Fig. 18. Laser output of homemade system

53
 APPENDIX A:

LOCATION OF LAMPS IN CIRCULAR CYLINDRICAL CAVITY

The circular cross section pumping cavity is approximately

a "close-packed" configuration in which the pumping efficiency

is dominated by the radiation directly intercepted by the

rod without reflection from the cavity wall. This implies

that the lamps should be located as close to the rod as is

feasible, consistent with adequate cooling of the system.

During tests of the cavity, comparisons were made of the

fluorescent power with two lamp-rod spacings, showing 1.1 yW

at 13 mm spacing compared with 1.8 jjW at 9.5 mm, for 3600

watt input power. These figures are roughly consistent

with an inverse square law variation with spacing.

54
 . .

LIST OF REFERENCES

1. O'Harrow, Patrick Ralph, The Construction of a Nd:YAG

Laser to Study Atmospheric Transmission Properties ,

M.S. Thesis, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA

December 1972.

2. Koechner, Walter, Solid-State Laser Engineering , p. 55,

Springer- Verlag, New York Inc. 1976 ,

3. Kushida, T. , and J. E. Geusic, Physics Rev. Letters ,

21, 1172 (1968).

4. Levine, Albert K. and Anthony J. Demaria, Lasers , vol. 4,

p. 11, (1976).

5. Kushida, T. and J. , E. Geusic, Proceedings of the IEEE ,

October 1970.

6. Koechner, Walter, Op. Cit., p. 56.

7. Ibid. , p. 57.

8. Thornton, Ronald J., et al., "Properties of Neodymium

Laser Materials", Applied Optics 8 (June 1969), p. 1Q87.

9. Ibid., p. 1098.

10. Koechner, Walter, Op. Cit., p. 327.

11. Harry, John E. Industrial Lasers and Their Applications

, ,

McGraw-Hill Book Company (UK) Limited, 1974.

12. Kiss, Z. J. and R. J. Pressley, "Crystalline Solid Lasers",

Applied Optics , vol. 5, No. 10, October 1966.

13. Koechner, Walter., Op. Cit., p. 271.

3+
14. Read, T. "The CW Pumping of YAG:Nd
B. , by Water-Cooled
Krypton Arcs", Applied Physics Letters , 9., p. 343.
(1 November 1966 J

15. Koecher, Walter, Op. Cit, p. 59.

16. Read, T. B., Op. Cit., p. 343.

55
17. Koechner, Walter., Op. Cit. , p. 387.

18. Fowles, Grant R. Introduction to Modern Optics

, , p. 274,
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc. 1968. ,

19. Ibid. , p. 276.

20. Koechner, Walter, Op. Cit., p. 87.

21. Harry, John E. , Op. Cit., p. 47.

56
 ,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, R. B. and Scalise, S. J. "Continuous Operation of

,

a YAlDrNd Laser by Injection Luminescent Pumping", Appl .

Physics Lett. v. 14, p. 188-190, 15 March 1969.

,

Amnon, Yariv. Introduction to Optical Electronics , Holt,

Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1976.

Draegert, D. A., "Efficient Single-longitudinal Mode Nd:YAG

Laser", IEEE J. Quantum Electron v. QE-8, p. 235-239,
,

February 1972.

Foster, J. D. and Osternik, L. M. , "Thermal Effects in

a Nd:YAG Laser:, J. Appl. Phys. , v. 41, p. 3656-3663,
August 1970.

Arecchi, F.T. and E. 0. Schultz-dubois Laser Handbook , ,

vol. 1, North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1972

Kogelnik, H. and T. Li, "Laser Beams and Resonators",

Appl. Optics v. 5, p. 1550-1557, October 1966.
,

Kushida, T. Marcos, H. N.
, , and Geusic, J. E., "Laser
Transition Cross Section and Fluorescence Branching
Ratio for Nd 3+ in Yttrium Aluminum Garnet", Phys. Rev .

v. 267, p. 289-291, 10 March 1968.

Liberman, I. and R. L. Grassel, "A Comparison of Lamps for

the Use in High Continuous Power Nd:YAG Lasers", Appl.
Optics v. 9, p. 1875-1878, September 1969.
,

Polloni, R. and Svelto, 0., "Static and Dynamic Behavior of

a Single-Mode NdrYAG Laser", IEEE J. Quantum Electron ,

v. QE-4, p. 481-485, August 1968.

Smith, William V., Laser Applications , Artech House, Inc.,

1976.

Yoshikawa, S., K. Iwamoto, and K. Washio "Efficient

Arc Lamps for Optical Pumping Neodynium Lasers",
Appl. Optics v. 10, p. 1620-1623, July 1971.
,

57
 INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST

No. Copies

1. Defense Technical Information Center 2

Cameron Station
Alexandria, Virginia 22314

2. Library, Code 0142 2

Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, California 93940

3. Department Chairman, Code 61Dy 1

Department of Physics
Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, California 93940

4. Professor A. W. Cooper, Code 61Cr 2

Department of Physics
Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, California 93940

5. Professor F. R. Schwirzke, Code 61Sw 1

Department of Physics
Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, California 93940

6. LTCOL Jung, Jin Won, Korean Army 1

243-8 Nakwon-Dong, Jongro-Gu
Seoul, Republic of Korea

58
 Thesis 198057
J9625 Jung
c.l The construction of
a Nd:YAG laser.

7
Thesis
J9625 Jun£
c.l The construction of
a Nd: YAG laser.