Q-switch of a continuously pumped CO2 laser with a scanning coupled-cavity Michelson mirror

Karim Battou (1) , Kamel Aït Ameur (2) , Omar Ziane (1)

1 Laboratoire d'Electronique Quantique
2 CIMAP - UMR 6252 - Centre de recherche sur les Ions, les MAtériaux et la Photonique

We report on the possibility of Q-switching a continuously pumped CO2 laser using a scanning Michelson interferometer as an end mirror, instead of the habitual well-known strategies. This method, in addition to its simplicity, produces free tail relaxation pulses having duration of about 1.3 µs, which is comparable to what can be obtained when using a saturable absorber. A pulse repetition frequency as high as 90 kHz is obtained.

Keywords: Q-switch; CO2 laser; Repetitively pulsed laser; Coupled cavities; Michelson mirror

Domains: Physics [physics]; Physics [physics]; Optics [physics.optics]

Karim Battou, Kamel Aït Ameur, Omar Ziane. Q-switch of a continuously pumped CO2 laser with a scanning coupled-cavity Michelson mirror. Optics Communications, 2008, 281, pp.5234-5238. ⟨cea-00325159⟩