Semimonolithic Nd:YAG ring resonator for generating cw single-frequency output at 1.06 microm.

We report 2.1 W of unidirectional single-frequency laser output from a novel Nd:YAG ring laser longitudinally pumped by a laser diode bar. The resonator requires only a single discrete optic and magnet, in addition to the laser medium, for stable multiwatt single-frequency operation.

Master oscillator with power amplifiers: performance of a two-element cw HF phased laser array.

The experimental performance of a two-element phased array of multiline cw HF chemical lasers in the master oscillator with power amplifier (MOPA) configuration has been measured. The mutual coherence of the two amplified beams was inferred from measurements of the visibility of interference fringes obtained when the beams were overlapped in the near field. When the optical path difference for the two beams was minimized, multiline visibilities of 0.

Mutual coherence of two coupled multiline continuous-wave HF lasers.

Two multiline cw HF lasers employing unstable resonators were coupled by injecting 20% of each laser output into the other laser. The mutual coherence of the two output beams was measured by recording the visibility V of the interference fringes generated when the beams are overlapped. Both single-line and multiline interference patterns were observed.

Reverse-wave suppressor mirror effects on cw HF unstable ring laser performance.

The effect of a reverse-wave suppressor (RWS) mirror on the performance of a multiline cw HF ring laser was measured and theoretically discussed. Forward-wave far-field brightness was found to be very sensitive to the tilt of a conventional RWS mirror, being reduced by a factor of 2 for a 200-microrad RWS tilt. An aberrated mirror was found to reduce this tilt sensitivity by nearly an order of magnitude.