Study of laser-induced damage in PPLN

David H. Titterton; Jonny A.C. Terry

doi:10.1117/12.461695

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9 April 2002 Study of laser-induced damage in PPLN

David H. Titterton, Jonny A.C. Terry

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Proceedings Volume 4679, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 2001; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461695
Event: Boulder Damage, 2001, Boulder, CO, United States

Abstract

Periodically-poled lithium niobate (PPLN) is a well- established nonlinear material for down converting the output from a solid state laser, the pump wavelength, to generate an emission close to 4 micrometers . A simple OPO configuration was used with a resonated signal beam passing through a heated PPLN crystal, to avoid photo-refraction. A Q-switched Nd:YAG pump laser was used for generating short- duration, high-intensity one micron pulses. Direct modulation of the diode sources enable the emission to be controlled. The pump beam had good beam quality, with an M² of about 1.8 in each axis, and modulated average power in excess of 6 W. Damage to PPLN crystals used in the solid state laser has been observed. Irreversible damage of the nonlinear medium has been recorded: initially to the output face of PPLN crystals, but latterly to the bulk structure. These observations were made over a range of pumping conditions and OPO configurations. Estimates of the damage threshold have been surprisingly low, of the order of 1.5 J/cm².

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David H. Titterton and Jonny A.C. Terry "Study of laser-induced damage in PPLN", Proc. SPIE 4679, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 2001, (9 April 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461695

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