DEVELOPMENT OF AN INFRARED OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATOR DRIVEN BY A DIODE-PUMPED 2FM LASER

THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE COMPACT AND EFFICIENT TUNABLE SOLID-STATE LASER SOURCES IN THE 3-5 MICRON SPECTRAL REGION BASED ON OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATORS (OPOS) PUMPED BY DIODE-LASER-PUMPED SINGLE-FREQUENCY 2 MICRON LASERS. THE USE OF DIODE LASER PUMP SOURCES FOR COHERENT SOURCES IN THIS SPECTRAL RANGE PROVIDES FOR HIGHLY EFFICIENT, COMPACT AND LONG-LIVED DEVICES. THE PHASE I PROGRAM WILL ESTIMATE THE PERFORMANCE OF OPOS BASED ON SILVER GALLIUM SELENIDE AND ZINC GERMANIUM PHOSPHIDE AND DETERMINE THE REQUIREMENTS OF A DIODE-PUMPED TM:YAG OR TM:HO:YAG LASERS TO PROVIDE OPO OUTPUT POWERS IN THE TENS TO HUNDREDS OF WATTS. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS PROGRAM THROUGH PHASE 11 WOULD DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF 3-5 MICRON SOURCES USING DIODE-PUMPED 2 MICRON LASERS. IN ADDITION TO FREQUENCY-AGILE RADAR APPLICATIONS, SOURCES IN THIS SPECTRAL REGION WOULD HAVE APPLICATIONS FOR DETECTION AND MONITORING OF A NUMBER OF ATMOSPHERIC CONSTITUENTS SUCH AS C02, CO, CH4, N20 AND S02 AND POSSIBLY MEDICAL APPLICATIONS.