Multistep laser pulse generation using passive electrical networks in the driver of a cavity-dumped Q-switched oscillator

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Multistep laser pulses of a type particularly useful in laser fusion and plasma physics research were generated in Soreq's cavity-dumped Q-switched oscillator. The pulses were tailored by adding passive electrical networks to the cavity-dump Pockels cell driver. Laser light step ratios of between 1 and 10-3 in steps with durations of between 0.5 and 4 ns were systematically produced. Equations based on the theory of transmission lines and impedance-mismatched junctions are derived to predict accurately the voltage waveforms observed in the Pockels cell driver. Inclusion of the Pockels cell response yields accurate quantitative prediction of the observed laser pulse duration.