HIQH POWER, FREQUENCY AGILE BLUE LASER

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN OPTICAL MATERIALS OFFER THE POTENTIAL OF WIDELY TUNABLE, EFFICIENT SOURCES OPERATING IN THE BLUE-GREEN REGIME FOR SUBMARINE LASER COMMUNICATION. THE PROPOSED LASER SYSTEM INVOLVES THE EXPLOITATION OF TWO RECENT DEVELOPMENTS; THE CR3+:LISRALF6 MATERIAL AND HIGH POWER VISIBLE LASER DIODES. THE ADVANTAGES OF CR3+:LISRALF6 ARE THAT IT CAN BE PUMPED BY DIODE LASERS DIRECTLY AND THAT THE ABSORPTION SPECTRUM IS VERY BROAD. ON THE OTHER HAND, TI:AL203, THE CURRENT MATERIAL OF CHOICE FOR BLUE-GREEN LASER SYSTEMS, IS HANDICAPPED BY ITS SHORT UPPER STATE LIFETIME, AND ALSO WITH THE NARROW ABSORPTION SPECTRUM OF ITS ND:YAG PUMP LASER. CONSEQUENTLY, THE CR3+:LISRALF6 LASER SYSTEM OFFERS THE POTENTIAL OF BEING SEVERAL TIMES MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT THAN TI:AL203 AND CAN BE CONFIGURED IN A MUCH MORE SIMPLE, AND THEREFORE MORE RELIABLE, SYSTEM. ENERGY COMPRESSION RESEARCH (ECR) PROPOSES AN INJECTION SEEDED, HIGH POWER LASER SYSTEM, WHICH IS TUNABLE AT HIGH RATES (IN EXCESS OF SEVERAL 10S OF KHZ) USING SPECIAL TECHNIQUES. THE LASER WILL BE BASED ON THE USE OF DIODE LASER-PUMPED CR3+:LISRALF6, GSING THE LASER DIODE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED BY MBDONNELL DOUGLAS CO., WITH WHOM THERE EXISTS A COLLABORATIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS - A HIGH POWER EFFICIENT, SIMPLE TUNABLE BLUE-GREEN LASER FOR USE IN SUBMARINE LASER COMMUNICATION. LASER SYSTEM COULD ALSO BE USED IN THE NEAR IR FOR MILITARY APPLICATIONS SUCH AS CM, AND IN SCIENTIFIC APPLICATIONS FOR TUNABLE SHORT PULSE PRODUCTION, SPOECTROSCOPY ETC.